Redefining online community Part 1: On authentic online community.

Community: perhaps one of the most overused word in today’s lexicon, but what does it really mean? Here’s one definition: Community (noun): a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Also: a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. At face value both of those definitions of community kinda make sense, don’t they? As I apply them to my own life, however, they don’t quite fit and I suspect I’m not alone in this. In many ways I’m the proverbial “lone wolf,” in the sense that I never felt like I really belonged to any one group, and my current core attitudes, interests, goals and values have been overly influenced by any one particular fellowship, and I’ve moved around so much that until recently it’s been hard to associate very deeply with any one group or place. My “community” is a delightfully complex set of connections to a diverse set of groups and individuals that collectively make me feel like I’ve found my home, and I find that each of those connections teaches me something new. As a result, I am learning, growing, and changing in ways I’d never have imagined.

Isolation and disintegrating personal relationships. As I write this, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to persist, and after almost three years people all over the world are coping with feelings of separation and isolation. Across the US, a mental health crisis wildfire smolders, further fanned by an addiction crisis like one we’ve never seen, passionate and sometimes explosive social injustice issues, a toxic and divisive political environment, and a vicious news cycle that stokes our fears and insecurities by constantly throwing these issues in our faces. On a deeper level, how many people do you know that have ended relationships with friends, family, or partners in the last couple of years? In a December 2020 BBC Worklife article, Maddy Savage describes the pandemic "… as 'the perfect storm' for couples, with lockdowns and social distancing causing them to spend increased amounts of time together. This has, in many cases, acted as a catalyst for break-ups that may already have been in the cards, especially if previous separate routines had served to mask problems. ‘I don't think that the reasons that people are divorcing have necessarily changed. You've always had the underlying current of ‘I'm unhappy with this or that at home’. But I think it has just brought the focus on domestic arrangements really into much more sharp focus than they would ordinarily be.’” Collectively, we are approaching a breaking point in terms of the social ties that bind us, which in turn leaves many feeling even more isolated, which leads to a whole lot of people looking for a better way to connect in community. I can personally relate to this, having a three-year relationship end recently and knowing that changes related to pandemic living were big contributors.

Online community. For these reasons and more, we collectively need safe, authentic community more than ever, and to feel truly connected to those communities using online platforms.. Personally, the ways I connect with a diverse and complex set of communities has changed forever thanks to smartphones, tablets, social media sites, discussion forums, story sharing sites, and texting - and I think it's a really good thing. Oddly, however, I am often left with a feeling that I am even less connected using these platforms. Isn't it interesting how these tools that can connect us instantly with others can leave us feeling even more disconnected at our core, which craves for a more meaningful and tangible community? 
 
Many of us have gotten caught up in the always-on, oversubscribed, information-overloaded, constantly-interrupted, "do-do-do" lifestyle that leaves us feeling stretched thin and stressed out. Adding to the stress, we’re frequently exposed to negativity and incendiary content on today’s online community platforms, which has been shown to harm mental health. I want more and better connections, but I also feel the need to unplug in equal measure. 

On a deeper level, the way online community platforms have exploited us in the interest of profits for themselves and advertisers has evoked a tidal wave of distrust in their user bases. Have you seen The Social Dilemma? It's a good place to start, but be warned - the rabbit hole can go really deep, really fast!  It's no wonder so many of my friends have announced that they're "taking a break" from social media.

​Authentic online community.  If being connected to community online is so important, and today’s popular social media platforms are indeed bad for us individually and collectively, where do we go from here? In her December 2020 article in The Atlantic, Adrienne LaFrance calls Facebook a "Doomsday Machine" and writes "Anyone who is serious about mitigating the damage done to humankind by the social web should, of course, consider quitting Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and any other algorithmically distorted informational environments that manipulate people. But we need to adopt a broader view of what it will take to fix the brokenness of the social web. That will require challenging the logic of today’s platforms—and first and foremost challenging the very concept of megascale as a way that humans gather. If megascale is what gives Facebook its power, and what makes it dangerous, collective action against the web as it is today is necessary for change. The web’s existing logic tells us that social platforms are free in exchange for a feast of user data; that major networks are necessarily global and centralized; that moderators make the rules. None of that need be the case. We need people who dismantle these notions by building alternatives. And we need enough people to care about these other alternatives to break the spell of venture capital and mass attention that fuels megascale and creates fatalism about the web as it is now." I believe that a truly safe alternative community platform would need to come from someone whose primary objective isn't monetary. They would need to state up front that they'll never sell your data, allow others to use it to make money, or sell advertisements to you. They would need to require that people treat other users with civility, even when they disagree, so it's mentally and emotionally safe to show up in authenticity. They would need to have a fair and transparent process for holding people accountable for adhering to a shared community code of conduct, and that process should ultimately be enforced by representatives from the community itself. Sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? If that kind of community platform existed, would you use it?

Do you remember the old 7-Up commercials from the '70s starring Geoffrey Holder? If not, Google it. I personally think that the time is now for the “Un-cola” of online community  platforms. That's what this blog series is all about, and it's why you should keep your eyes and ears open for a brand new alternative online community platform called the Eos Community Connections Portal.  

Coming up next: What's wrong and right with today's social media platforms.