Is virtual community a real
community? The virtual community is generated by a computer to stimulate real
objects and activities while real community is something factual which actually
exists and is not imagined and invented. For me, virtual community can be an instrument
to become real community. In the virtual world we communicate other people whom
we do not really know. That’s why in doing cyberspace let’s purify our intentions.
Our end must be good. There must be a sense of communion, and it would be a
tool for evangelization. So that virtual community would somehow become a real
community.
Nowadays, we are living this
overarching world of social media. And because of the social media, the world
is getting smaller and smaller precisely because we can easily communicate to
those people who are far from us. Social media is very substantial in spreading
messages and information to other people especially news. But the risk of
social media is that if our motive or intention is bad it would be very
dangerous. For instance, in Facebook, if we have an enemy, we can post anything
against that person and upload it to the internet. It is very less reflective. We
never care the feelings of other people. What we do is post and post against
him/her. And this is the great danger of social media, we become less
reflective and less responsible. That’s why in engaging social media our
intention must be for the good of all.
Nevertheless, Social media involves
communion or communication. And social media is a good device for communication.
Since we want to connect and belong to one another, to share our feelings and
thoughts, then social media is very useful. For example, during the time when
the Philippines was hit by the typhoon Yolanda. Social media was very important
in spreading information in asking help for the victims. And I think through that
catastrophe, social media is very much helpful. And it was already a sign that
virtual community has the chance to become a real community. Therefore, it is really
possible that virtual community becomes real community.
In the Church, social media is also a
good tool for evangelization. We must be a cyber-evangelizers in this cyber
phenomenon. As online communities of faith, we must be a good example and an
inspiration to other people. We must not isolate users, rather we must connect
and we must acknowledge every user that they are part of a real community. And
it will not stop there because whatever begins on social media does not stay on
social media alone. Social media could be a normative tool for communication whom
most of the people meet each other in a physical environment. And it simply begins
with social communication.
In a nutshell, social media can be a
substantial tool to bring out virtual community into real community as long as
there is communication between different people or groups. We must also be
responsible in using social media. And let’s also use social media for
evangelization.
