Is the Internet destroying real life (RL) communities?

There are two main arguments for whether or not the internet is destroying real life communities or not. One argument would be that the internet is creating a substitute for real life communities, which is in turn hurting real life communities in that one may stay at home and communicate with others they may or may not know without them physically being in the same presence as one another. This can be seen as a social or unsocial event depending on how one views internet conversations, but it can be agreed that the time spent by people on the internet can seriously affect the way they interact with the outside world and the amount of time they spend out in public with others.

There is no real comparison for the amount of time people spend online as opposed to being out. In many cases this is age related as many younger teens are unable to get out and about because they are not old enough to drive. In this way, many of their lives may actually center on the internet and online relationships with school friends and others. For others who find it difficult to make real life connections with others, the internet is good outlet for meeting others due highly to the anonymity the internet creates.

Others believe that the internet can be used to augment real life communities and interactions. For example, many people work online or get educations online and this prepares them to enter the workforce or to work from home. This way of doing things allows one to contribute to the community through making money from one’s home with which they can contribute to the community economically. Many people also meet others via online relationships which turn into real life relationships. These are ways in which the internet is contributing to real life communities.