Kształtowanie się nowych form wspólnotowości na przykładzie społeczności internetowych
The Formation of New Forms of Community as Exemplified by Virtual Communities

Summary/Abstract: The processes of individualization and emancipation of individuals, which have been under way in recent years and which remain typical of post-modern societies, instead of giving the sense of autonomy, self-determination and freedom, have brought feelings of frustration and rootlessness and the loss of stable points of reference. The individual deprived of rules typical of traditional communities looks now for the community that would offer the sense of belonging and togetherness while being entrenched in the new social reality. The reflections in this article endeavor to answer whether new forms of community, such as virtual communities (which function in so-called social networking sites) may give their users the compensation for the deficiencies of traditional, organic communities and become for them an alternative educational environment. The arguments seem to confirm the thesis that virtual communities will not replace organic ones, whose role in the education process is and will still remain essential. Unstable, limited virtual communities which foster the development of artificial identity, due to, among all, the high fluctuation rate of their users, and their unconfirmed, unsanctioned affiliation, free of any responsibility, will remain but one of the forms of shaping the social identity of the individual.

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