The existence of virtual communities is a predictable consequence of modern technological progress. Most up-to-date humans use at least one social network for work, entertainment, communication, and other purposes. Some humans claim that virtual communities have a negative impact on the population, making inappropriate materials easily accessible for younger generations, while others see only the positive sides of social networks (Ferris & Stein, 2020). Virtual communities have both positive and negative sides; however, their profits outweigh the shortcomings.
Social networks allow people worldwide to communicate with each other, learn new languages, and stay societal if having various disorders. Communities online provide vast opportunities to share knowledge and experience with peers and stay up-to-date. Every person wants to be social, especially it is essential for teenagers. If a person does not live in a city with an immense population, he might lack social attention and involvement. Virtual communities provide a never-ending number of people from numerous countries and interests with whom sharing knowledge might be even more exciting. For humans interested in foreign language development, social networks allow enhancing language skills by having a native speaker pen pal. This can make a process of learning involving and more practical. Moreover, individuals having disorders that interfere with their social skills can feel uncomfortable communicating offline. For them, online platforms can be a solution to maintain social experience and self-development. Virtual communities broadcast people’s abilities, knowledge, and mindsets.
However, social networks interfere with children’s upbringing providing them with unlimited access to adult content, graphic language, and violent materials. These shortcomings of online communications can influence children’s and teenagers’ psychological conditions and lead to various issues. These problems can be corrected by family restrictions, attention, and participation in children’s activities in their free time. Virtual communities cannot harm young generations if parents limit the content children access and discuss major topics inside the family.
Reference
Ferris, K. & Stein, J. (2020). The real world: An introduction to sociology (7th ed.). Norton.