Online communities are becoming increasingly popular, examples of these communities include wikepedia, yahoo.co.nz and facebook. As an Occupational therapy student it is important to be able to identify these communities to determmine what draws people to these communities and what they can draw from these communities. The community I will briefly discuss is Facebook (www.facebook.com).
The focus of Facebook is to allow people to communicate with each other by using the internet. People can chat via email or by using chatrooms, they can also leave comments and posts on other peoples pages to keep in touch. Facebook provides an easy way for people who do not see each other often to keep in touch.This site is very interactive as it allows diffrent groups from all over the world to communicate with one another. Services provided involve being able to upload photos,videos and being able to create events pages and groups that you like.
why people choose to contribute to this community (Facebook).
People that use facebook are using it as a way to communicate with people, as Sunderland (2010) states " online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life". Peole choose to use facebook as way to talk to people in a different way than texting or talking on the phone and use it to seek an easy and unique way of communicating.
Below is an example of what may be discussed in this community
Myself and my friend discussing when we will be home for the holidays:
Ella Smits: know wen ur going home yet?? i cant decide wen to book flights an ur decision will be a great help in order to make my decision
May 21 at 4:42pm · Comment ·LikeUnlike · View Feedback (4)Hide Feedback (4) · See Wall-to-Wall
Tara Bolton: uhm nup i told mum that i have my last exam on the 24th of june and shes gna book tikz for me,ill prob go back around the 25th or 26th...good to see you still cant make decisions for yourself el haha
May 22 at 7:42pm · LikeUnlike ·
Topics dicussed in facebook are very personal, people discuss plans for the weekend, what they have been up to and where they have been.
Potential ethical issues that may arise in this community
People may try to add you as a friend and they may not be safe to add or people might pretend to be someone that they are not. The lack of privacy these communities provide is another ethical issue as Bynum & Rogerson (2004)state " one of the earliest computer ethics topics to arouse interest in America was privacy"(p.3)
Benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community
Facebook provides a quick way of communication that is cost free and provides every individual with an equal voice. It also gives people a chance to connect with people who have similar interests. They can also provide a great source of entertainment for people(Sunderland, 2010).
What this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can.
People who do not have access to interenet will not be able to be a part of this community and will be seperated from those who have access. As stated by Sunderland(2010) it may produce a "digital divide". People may also become reliant on this as a way of commnuicating with people and may lose appropriate communication skills to communicate with people face to face.
Bynum, T.W. & Rogerson, S. (2004). Computer ethics and professional responsibility. Oxford Blackwell Publishing.pdf PDF document
Sunderland, J.(2010)Online communities and the real world?Participation in occuaption 1
Tara Boltons OT Blog for participation in Occupation 1:This blog will describe the place of computer and digital technology as a tool for facilitating participation in occupation and enhancing therapy services.
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