Is Facebook community?

So of course there’s a ton of commentary out there on Facebook. And as usual with everything technological, new, and hip….most people write negatively about it. So I’m going to put together a few entries on my thoughts.

First, “is facebook community?” And maybe next will be “is facebook a waste of time?”

This first question came from a trendy source (and I use that term in the positive tense). Anne’s conclusion was generally no.

My conclusion? The question does not make sense.

That’s like asking “is a city block community?” or “is the telephone community?”. These are collections of technologies that are tools….how can they be community?

Let’s look at the definition(s) of community.

1: a unified body of individuals:
b: the people with common interests living in a particular area
c: an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common location
d: a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society
g: a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society
3: c: social activity

Is Facebook itself a community? Again…no. Doesn’t make sense.

Can community exist on Facebook? Definitely! And in my opinion, community can exist far more effectively than in these dysfunctional towns, cities, and (I dare say) churches we have created.

Think about it. When was the last time you knew that someone in your neighborhood lost a loved one? Do you know who their pets are? Do you know their favorite music? Do you know what they did this week? Have you reached out to say hi? Have you seen pictures of their recent vacation or kid’s band concert?

Now for something scary. When was the last time you knew things like this about people in your church?

Can you really apply the Webster definition of “community” to things we normally refer to as such?

I can safely say I’ve grown closer to people through facebook. That happens in community. It seems like what we call “the real world” usually tries to do the oppoosite. Think very hard about that.

Nobody really stops to ask if our neighborhood, town, church or city is a community. Of course it is…because it…just is. But I think if you look at it, it’s really not. Facebook facilitates far more communication than other parts of our industrial and post-industrial lives. And thus, my answer is:

Facebook is not community. But facebook facilitates community, and it does so far more effectively than almost anything else we have these days.