Social media is a rapidly expanding
method of communication and expression. Many trends have started because of
social media and it has even proved to be a successful outlet for different
movements, such as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge or the hashtag on twitter,
#whyIstayed. The #whyIstayed was created by someone who was just looking for a
way to explain why people might stay in abusive relationships to those who may
not understand. This hashtag started to give others an outlet to explain their
situations and give hope to those that may still be in those relationships.
This hashtag created a community. A community of people struggling with abusive
relationships who had their own way of talking about the subject, or their own
discourse. This hashtag is just an
example of how communities can be started through social media. People can be
involved in any number of communities, each having their own discourse. As Joseph
Harris states in The Idea of Community in
the study of Writing, “Rather, one
is always simultaneously a part of several discourses, several communities, is
always already committed to at number of conflicting beliefs and practices.”
The people that were involved in the #whyIstayed all came from different
communities, but joined together in this common community because they all had
something in common in that particular instant.
As an individual who uses social
media regularly, I am apart of many different communities. I have a group on
Facebook for my sorority, a group chat with a couple friends, and I have even
participated in popular hashtags on twitter. Each of these online communities
has a different discourse. Each different community has a common interest and
uses a common language. Communities such as these can be started by a few
people who have common interests, coming together and discussing this in their
own way. The more people who share these things, the more people that will join
the community. Within these different communities there are people who think
alike about a certain topic, but then think differently about another topic.
This is why there is so much community overlap. As Harris describes it, “We do
not write simply as individuals, but we do not write simply as members of a
community either.” Everyone has their own beliefs and interests, which may agree
with many different communities. Social media has proved to be an inspiring way
for individuals to join communities and express things they may not otherwise.
From your post it sounds like you are part of several interesting online communities and you understand how you share a discourse. I'm wondering though, what discourse features you see shared in your various communities specifically? For example what discursive features do you share in your sorority's group? What about the way you use language or Facebook or the features of Facebook brings you together as a group? Also, in your case, how do you see yourself as a writing in these groups both as a member of the community and as an individual? This makes me wonder when we are riding in a community or to a community as "an individual" are we also simultaneously writing as someone who is influenced by the other communities we are a part of? Can we have her write truly as an individual?
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