The 30 | Community
Meaningful interactions remain difficult to replicate in digital communities because the 1s and 0s harbor all the pitfalls of a long-distance relationship and magnify the flaws of interpersonal dynamics against the ostensible intimacy of a good side-by-side sit on the couch.
I've thought a lot this month about community, and one in particular. Facebook had two+ billion users at the end of last year, which is roughly equal to the number of people who live in the pair of most populous countries (China and India). That number also equals the sum of heartbeats in the next 15 ranked nations -- a list that includes the United States, Brazil, Russia, Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
The internet has delivered plenty of goodness to the wired and connected world. Social networks, however, have failed to match the promises of their better angels -- despite overwhelming positives for linking lost friends and providing gathering spaces for marginalized or niche groups. I haven't left Facebook yet, but one podcast in particular has me drawing exit plans.
That saddens me. Real communities are incredible -- a conscious and often altruistic decision to gather, whether by language or geography or danger.
More often than not, this collective results from likemindedness, but plenty of situations force disparate groups to see the same future and work to either avoid or achieve that vision.
Sometimes a community even elevates to the abstract -- we carry it with us because the idea, despite its superficial practical realities, finds its deepest roots in love.
Such affection (and convenience, and nostalgia, etc.) makes leaving Facebook a decision that requires more thought before I pack my bags, and certainly more conversations with my community, preferably on the nearest couch.
Poems, like communities, are old stories too.