互联网与虚拟社区

Internet and Virtual Communities

It is well known that media have great impact on community life. As a new medium, Internet possesses all the qualities and characters that traditional media have. At the same time, Internet demonstrates many unique features. This means that its impact on community life may be very different. This paper argues that the interactive communications through Internet is as significant as the face-to-face interaction. Moreover, the Internet communication is capable of creating virtual communities that not only facilitate connections but also provide supports for their members. Thus, the Internet has not only the potential to promote isolation among people in real life (face to face) but also the capability to construct a virtual community that is detached from the real life. The point is, while the relationship among people in real life is gradually fading away, the relationship among people in virtual life becomes more and more significant. This means the possibility that virtual community will eventually replace face to face community in the future.