Community can be defined as a body of people who live in the same place, usually sharing a common cultural or ethnic identity. Hence: a place where a particular body of people lives. Another definition is a group of people who share the same interests, pursuits, or occupation, esp. when distinct from those of the society in which they live (“community, n”). Historically a community reflected that of the first definition, friends and neighbors working together to keep their town functioning and together. They built community by working to have safer neighborhoods, healthier kids and families, better preserved cultural traditions, and more profitable businesses (Briggs). Modern technology and global fears have morphed communities into not only the physical but the virtual as well. Community …show more content…
More and more people define community as a group with similar likes and interests: technology and media have made it easy. Though with such interconnectedness fear also permeates. Violence, hate, and injustices are readily at our fingertips and information is quick to our eyes. Charlotte Fabiansson discussed how a young person’s feeling of being unsafe stems from the global information and mass media rather than local experiences (42). These fears can cause individuals to entrench themselves into the familiar, then fear and exclude groups with different ideas, culture, or traditions. This can cause isolation and for members of society to form relationships in online communities with more similarities, such as online gaming guilds, Facebook groups, or activist groups. These communities have caused many to lose a sense of physical community, as in the neighbors next door. Xavier de Souza Briggs points out that a focus on community building should be to improve quality of life and social justice (Briggs). Fearing those different from us and always staring at a screen and not interacting with those physically around us, doesn’t seem to be improving quality of life or social
Within the community, they find strength, shaping their identities,
Residents established a sense of community, setting up schools, newspapers, and more, and children
3. By the end of the clip the elements present that are present from Gardner’s traditional definition of “community” include wholeness incorporating diversity; a shared culture; caring, trust, and teamwork; group maintenance and governance; participation and shared leadership tasks; links with the outside world; and the
In the article “Social Media: The Screen, the Brain, and Human Nature” written by Justin Vinh argues that social media creates an atmosphere of loneliness and depression linked to social media use. He believes that this deteriorates the mental health of teenagers, who, as a result, have become isolated. Although some might say that social media connects people more, however, Vinh claims that technology has caused us to become more disconnected. Justin makes a great point when he states, “social media welcomes its users to compare themselves to their peers, and it compels them to try to outdo their opponents” (Vinh 4). The statement he makes is valid because social media became competitive.
The word community is explained by the Oxford Dictionary as “people of a district or country considered collectively, especially in the context of social values and responsibilities; society.” A community is determined by shared characteristics which could include location, culture, race, or beliefs. The common characteristics of a community can also dictate who belongs and who does not. Maycomb County was a community with a defined structure.
“Cohen has a strong view that media itself jumps to conclusions and overreacts to behaviour which happens which is challenging to the social norms. Cohen’s work illustrated how those reactions influenced the formation and enforcement of social policy, law, and societal perceptions of threats posed by the youth groups.” (Dr. Bonn, Scott 2015) Moral panic by society is seen in the media, which fires further social unacceptable behaviour. Within a moral panic the media identify a group as a ‘folk devil’, it can be identified as a threat to society’s values, the media also distorts the group in a negative stereotypical way in which it is then exaggerates the scale of the
“There are many costs to modern society…but the most dangerous loss may be the community,” wrote Sebastian Junger in his book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging. The genius of Junger reveals that even with all of its benefits, modern society will crumble from lack of a community experience. “The beauty and the tragedy of the modern world is that it eliminates many situations that require people to demonstrate a commitment to the collective good,” he writes.
Society is fooled into believing in the applied connection among people. Benedict Anderson’s idea of imagined communities emphasizes that, “… the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (5). Members of neighborhoods, cities, states, or countries feel a sense of unity with other members for living in the same place or maybe having the same basic values, but true unity comes from understanding the similarities among each other, considering the impact a person can have on another, and caring about lives. Recognizing the importance of lives being socially intertwined is necessary to sustain a considerate society.
Sometimes people use television to forget about a hard time at work, others using phones in public, causing lack of communication with people nearby. “Little by little, technology has become an integral part of the way that people communicate with one another and has increasingly taken the place of face-to-face communication. Due to the rapid expansion of technology, many individuals fear that people may be too immersed in this digital world and not present enough in the real world,”. People, especially in the United States, spend so much time on the internet they get separated from their real life and don't know what’s going on around them. Not only does Technology take away from everyone's real life, but it also distances people from family and friends.
Community work is an essential part of social work. It has been defined as “the process of assisting people to improve their own communities by undertaking autonomous collective actions. ”(Twelvetrees, 2001) It entails getting the support of communities members to undertake projects or tasks that would be beneficial for the community. In community work, workers “operate as facilitators with people in relation to what those people decide to become involved with.
In the essay, “Isolated by the Internet”, author Clifford Stoll explains that recent research, conducted by psychologists Robert Kraut and Vicki Lundmark, suggests that frequent use of the Internet has had a generally negative effect on the psychological well being of its users. Using examples from Kraut and Lundmark’s previously mentioned research, Stoll asks, “Will the proliferation of shallow, distant social ties make up for the loss of close local links?” The question Stoll raises here is entirely valid, and just as concerning; as the more time one spends online, the more time one subsequently spends alone, away from people he or she could be potentially interacting with. I believe Stoll’s concerns are completely justified as today, (falsely comforted by shallow, superficial relationships,
A community, a complex term that often times elicits various feelings and definitions, generally implies that there are relationships between a group of people that share some common goals, values, the same geographical location, or, perhaps a way of life that reinforces one another. In a community, members choose to associate with, or connect to each other. However, it is only when we take a step back from the activities in our life’s, do we recognize reality and witness the social interactions that occur around us every day. The overarching purpose of this assignment was to go out into the community on two separate occasions to observe the social interactions- paying close attention to evidence of social networks, excluded or exclusive communities,
As individuals, and in groups, we can change our communities. We can set up neighbourhoods and institutions in which people commit them self to working to form strong relationship bonds and alliances with people of diverse cultures and backgrounds.
According to Lindsey Craig in her article “Technology -- we all love it and we all use it, but how is it affecting us?” she stated that “Technology is making us more alone, because instead of interacting with our friends in person, we are dependent on using our phones or tablets. We start to compare
People also stay connected and interact with one another, with their peers, people of similar interests, and even their family members. This helps strengthen their relationship even if they are busy with their daily routines. In addition, social media sites have become a platform for youth with similar interest or common discipline to get together, building connections and opportunities for their respective careers. Youth claims that social media not only makes their lives easier and efficient, it has become their lifestyle. While social media has seems to bring people together and help one another stay connected, it has created social isolation in regards to BBC News report.