Communities are changing!
Just like our wardrobes are changing because fashion is subject to trends. Our customs and cultures we share are constantly being modified. Sometimes the change is slow and hard to notice. Sometimes social revolutions strike suddenly and rapidly.How are the communities changing and what are the factors that triggered the process?


In the past, communities tended to be closed systems with relatively clear boundaries, stable memberships, and few linkages to other communities" (Anderson 1999). They were bounded to geographical location: a village, a town, a city.


With the development of mass media we moved into the 'Analog Age', when "television and radio created communities of people thinking and talking about the same thing" without being gathered in the same location (Anderson 1999).

But with the rapid development in information and communication technologies supported by globalization and increased social mobility, we were pushed into the 'Digital Age' - 'age of open systems'.

"Cyberspace has become a new kind of social terrain, crowded with ‘virtual communities'" (Anderson 1999). Geography is no longer the predominant force in shaping community. Most of the communities are fluid, some are placeless. People became multi-community individuals with many kinds of memberships.

However, "whatever benefits may be found in the information society, revival of 'community' is not one of them. At least not community as the traditional nostalgic, and incontrovertibly good product of our imaginations" (Smith 1995).

As the digitalization and globalization progress, the communication between people, which is a fundament of any community becomes less personal but the human need to belong remains as important as ever. And in the future, "community will continue to be a profound human need but will be redefined, perhaps many times over" (Anderson 1999).

Is it possible to have a sense of community without a sense of place, without anchoring it in locality and/or personal face to face interaction?


References:
Anderson, W.T. (1999) 'Communities in a World of Open Systems', Futures. 31(5), pp. 457-463.
Smith, G. (1995) Virtual Community in Real Reality [Online]. Available at: http://www.partnerships.org.uk/itf/virtreal.html (Accessed: 10 November 2009).