Ryan and Emily introduce the world of virtual communities that span the vast range of social media and networking platforms that so many of us frequent every day. They talk about what exactly is a virtual community, what are they all about, what helps them function, and how they have impacts that go beyond the screen. Emily and Ryan also share some personal experiences they have with virtual communities they have been a part of and what role those communities played in their lives.

Resources

Ito, M., Arum, R., Conley, D., Guttiérez, K., Kirshner, B., Livingstone, S., Michalchik, V., Penuel, W., Peppler, K., Pinkard, N., Rhodes, J., Tekinbaş, K., Schor, J., Sefton-Green, J., Watkins, S., & Blum, A. (2020). The Connected Learning Research Network: Reflections on a decade of engaged scholarship (pp. 53–62). Connected Learning Alliance.

Jiang, J. (2018, November 28). Many teens say they’re constantly online – but they’re no less likely to socialize with their friends offline. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/11/28/teens-who-are-constantly-online-are-just-as-likely-to-socialize-with-their-friends-offline/

Malik, Z., & Haidar, S. (2020). Online community development through social interaction — K-Pop stan twitter as a community of practice. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(2), 733–751. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1805773

Lorenz, T. (2024, April 12). Is social media destroying kids mental health? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS1wax3KjnA

Ünlüsoy, A., Leander, K. M., & de Haan, M. (2021). Rethinking sociocultural notions of learning in the digital era: Understanding the affordances of networked platforms. E-Learning and Digital Media, 19(1), 78–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211032302