[Air-l] Defining Versions of Reality

[Frank Schaap]

Steve asked:
> I am struggling with the definition of reality in some of the online
> community articles I have read. They seem to make a distinction between
> physical and virtual communities, sometimes pulling in "imagined
> communities" but fail to really discuss the perception of reality from
> the point of view from the individual.

Jeremy already mentioned "Imagined Communities", which is by Benedict Anderson
btw.

One of the articles I've found most useful in class to discuss 'levels of
reality or virtuality' with respect to online communities is:

Fernback, Jan (1999) "There is a there there. Notes towards a definition of
cybercommunity." In: Jones, Steve (ed.) _Doing internet research. Critical
issues and methods for examining the net._ London: Sage Publications.

Fernback helpfully starts with a quick overview of historical thinking about
the concept of community, eventually discussing the symbolic approach to
community (Cohen, Anderson) and extrapolating that line of thinking to online
communities.

Below's one quote from the article that I like to use in class because it
allows to discuss various aspects of online community and the social
constructedness of reality:

"Reality is socially constructed, and as Cohen (1985) and Anderson (1983)
assert, community exists in the minds of participants; it exists because its
participants define it and give it meaning." (p. 213)

But, as you say, from the point of the individual we seem to lack some
theorizing, so I usually confront the class with the following, modified,
version:

Reality is socially constructed, and as Cohen (1985) and Anderson (1983)
assert, community exists in the minds of participants; it exists because its
participants define it and give it meaning[, and because they act like it is
there (FS)].

And this then allows for discussion of what, besides shared symbols with
individually attached meanings (Cohen), would constitute community and which
aspects you can find in various online settings and what an individual should
know, believe or do to be part of that.

Anyway... HTH,

Frank.

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