Because I wrote a post about my site’s architecture and its evolution, I was looking at the old one through the internet archive, and I found that I actually posted some stuff in my original blog. The only important thing is the one I wrote about this topic.
This essay was originally submitted for my FBU application in 2018. I only did some edition and cleanup because from that time to today, my English has improved a lot, but the whole idea and structure is the same (if you want to read the original without modification: click here)
The technologies nowadays make it possible not only to stay in touch with our contacts but also to connect with basically everyone, thanks to the internet. There are many platforms where it is possible to meet and interact with people with interests alike, which generates new types of communities and online communities.
These online communities are exceptional because they make the interaction between people worldwide most accessible than ever. Thanks to different existing tools, many social barriers are smaller than ever, e.g., the language barrier. Furthermore, the interaction of people with disabilities with the rest of their world and vice versa is each day simpler in consequence of these tools. Mobile technologies are essential in these barrier-breaking abilities as nowadays almost everyone has one. These devices have, if not the before mentioned tools themselves, the capabilities to access them online.
Besides giving barrier-breaking communication abilities, mobile technologies have made communication faster than ever; in fact, it is feasible to reach anyone at any moment. The times when it was necessary to be in front of a computer to access the internet have passed. Now is the mobile age where practically everyone is always connected. Thus, not only is the connection between people at its best, but it also increases productivity or recreation time (sometimes both) because the user doesn’t lose time waiting for an answer in front of the computer. Instead, the user now waits for the response in the form of a notification on the mobile device.
Thanks to the facility of access and use of mobile technologies, it has created a bridge for inclusion to the people fearful of technology. A lot of them that didn’t use computers now have their smartphones, and with them, they participate in everything the web can do in the palm of their hands, bringing the possibility to be part of the online communities. In my personal experience, these people end in a way or another in these online communities because they find some common interests and start to get in touch with total strangers inadvertently. And as seen in different studies, like “Psychological Wellbeing as an Explanation of User Engagement in the Lifecycle of Online Community Participation,” participation in online communities can create a state of happiness.
The online communities as well can help generate a physical approach between people, such as cases when some decide to reunite together, by this passing to a real-life community. The use of mobile technology is of great importance to stay in touch during the transition between communities, the online to the real-life one.
In conclusion, it can be understood how online communities are an essential part of our daily lives. Still, also it can be seen how mobile technologies have facilitated and improved them by making people closer than ever. The perspective of the communities is brilliant thanks to the existing and future mobile technologies capabilities and tools.
