Community: (n) a group of people with shared interests.

August 15, 2010

I had an interesting conversation over the weekend with my husband’s uncle who was complaining about how glued “the youngsters” are to their mobiles. He wonders if there is a person at the other end: “I’m annoyed to see them on the street talking or texting with their mobile phones, where is the community going?”

I thought that was quite a fascinating statement and I couldn’t help thinking: “Are they not communicating? Are they not exchanging on common interests?”. It is quite interesting to see how a different generation would see it as a downfall. But I argued that the “new” platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and the power of smart mobile devices have broadened the opportunities for people to communicate, share, exchange, and build networks and communities, even if the tools are “virtual” and not face to face.

What do you think?