There was a time when BBS and chat room users were filed away as loners and introverts. Then social media took shape and we’ve blurred the lines between social insulation and community activation. Things have certainly changed, and have forced us to reconsider our relationship to community.
We increasingly meet online, talk to friends and relatives on Skype, and depend on our tech for our sense of self. With Facebook currently creating a fully immersive environment to tempt ‘citizens’ into spending time in its virtual world, where will we define person, place and community?
Technology usage and adoption is closely tied to societal and cultural factors. The beauty in every technology that has ever succeeded is in how it actually enabled 'shaping' by the people/users, and not necessarily just commuted by the companies developing and deploying them. Governments have been toppled, music, art and technology festivals have taken on a new meaning as tentpole meeting places for those otherwise only digitally connected.
Where will it end… has it even really begun?
Join us to discuss:
- What defines community in virtual settings.
- The requirements for maintaining our humanity within the digital realm.
- What the ‘real world’ actually means and how much longer will it be important.
- Whether the virtual world will support our needs better than the real one.
Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/944564111
