The Role of Technology in Community

So much has changed in the age of the internet.  You can talk to a friend down the street or thousands of miles away in the comfort of your own home with immediate feedback.  You can start a webcam and send images to China or even buy clothes; all, possibly, in your pajamas in the middle of the night.  With the instantaneous connectivity of the internet, there is also a wealth of information, some true some not, available at your fingertips at the click of a mouse.  This new, technological, age has begun whether we like it or not.

With this connectivity the internet brings, what has happened to "community?"  Some people may say it's almost gone away entirely as we once knew it.  On the other hand, some may make the claim that it's simply expanded the idea of community.  I, however, fall in the middle ground.

It really depends on where you are and who you are.  Smaller towns risk a higher impact because the amount of people to draw from is much smaller, whereas larger towns can afford for more people to not take an active role in civil organizations, government, and community.  It's a numbers game in a sense that if the internet takes away 25% of the time the average person would spend in the community, a smaller town would have less people to step in to fill that time.  It is important to keep in mind, however, that if everyone became less involved in community that the community would inevitably suffer.  I say this because no longer do you have people going down to the ball diamonds on summer nights because it's something to do.

This argument is not to imply that the internet, solely, is responsible.  People, in general, are just too busy.  We are packing so much into our schedules that we hardly have any time.  What use to be a dinner at home has turned into eating fast food in the car between work, meetings, and other activities.  Are people involved still? YES!  The problem is people value these commitments less than previous generations.  It's a matter of, I can come every other meeting, or I'll come to the meetings but I don't want any responsibility, or even the "drop the kids off for an hour" attitude that some parents take with their kids activities.

The bottom line is we need to use technology smarter.  I know spending hours on end on youtube or facebook may be entertaining, but we need to limit ourselves.  The internet is an excellent source of information and an extremely quick way to share important information.  But we should never discount personal communication.  You can't learn to lead/be a part of a group of people online the way you lead a group of Boy Scouts, participate in a school organization, or simply enjoying a cup of coffee with a group of close friends.  The internet takes away so much, but gives just as much, or arguably more, back.  It's a simple matter of using it wisely.

So where does that leave community?  It leaves community where the internet stops.