Today was interesting, very thought provoking. In the seminar we were already discussing the topics before Maria even came in to ask us questions. I even notices that we were all so passionate about this topic that we ended up not letting Maria have a word, we would just all chain together our points and bounce off each other, it was probably my favourite seminar this semester.

The main topics we discussed were about the opportunities the internet has provided people with to connect and create a community. We watched a video from the late 20th century when the first online chats were created and how people after chatting online met up in person and were having a great time at a gathering, they were all praising the invention and saying how it is such a great step forward for the world.

In the seminar we spoke about how sitting at home on your computer or phone and participating in a Facebook group or a forum with people who have similar interests to you does not automatically make you a part of a community, that only happens when you go outside and actually meet those people face to face. I personally don’t agree with that idea in its entirety but I do think its important for people to come out of their bedrooms and actually socialise.

Tying into this, there was a discussion about how at the same time as connecting people to people the internet has also managed to disconnect and isolate people from the real world. It is extremely easy and “free” to look at celebrities’ lives and think “oh wow look at how perfect their life is, my life is horrible”, where as before the internet and social media you had to actually go out of your way to buy magazines and other media sources to follow celebrities’ lives and you still would not get the amount of information you do today from simply following their instagram.