Creating Community Beyond the Screen
I remember my first week of my freshman year of college very clearly.
My parents had just dropped me off 8+ hours away from my hometown, I had plenty of tears rolling down my face, and the aching feeling of when the h*ll I would see my parents again seemed to be a daunting feeling.
But, this feeling was immediately interrupted by the outgoing and peppy Freshman week orientation leader named Carly.
During the following days, we sat in small groups, did the name and fun fact discussion over and over again, as well as tried to form some sort of communality with the other scared to death freshman kids that were experiencing their first time away from home too. We all wanted friendships more than anything else in the world so we clung to any sort of similar characteristic that we could.
That similar feeling is what we experience when we first dip our toes into online community. We constantly ask the question of who are my people? Will they like me? What do we have in common? And how do I get my “in”?
When searching for your online community, it’s super important to ask yourself: what makes you passionate? What is the reason you get out of bed in the morning? Do you have a hobby that you love more than anything in the world? Finding out what makes you light up when you talk about something is key to finding others that feel the same way. Sure you might feel like you’re the only person in the world that collects used Pokemon cards, been in reality there’s a group out there with thousands of others collectors with room to you to join.
Our best relationships and friendships that we find ourselves in beyond the online realm are the ones that are built on the foundation of things that we have in common with other people. So it’s important to translate this into our relationships online by finding the people that share the same passions that we do.
For me, I found that through my online community of Jonas Brothers friends that has slowly evolved into friendships that have gone far beyond that of the people I interact with the most on Twitter. They fly cross country just like me to see their concerts. They get excited when Joe, Nick, or Kevin posts a new picture. We celebrate each others triumphs, support each other in our failures, and lift each other up in the best way that we can. To think that I found these amazing friendships through a social media app is beyond me, and it’s crazy to think that these people from all over the country share the same passions as I do.
So I think what I’m saying is, find your niche! What makes you light up when you talk about something? What makes you smile just when thinking about it? Chances are there’s thousands (if not millions) of other people out there that are just like you hoping to find community online. Go ahead and join that Facebook group for crazy knitters, reply to that Tweet about joining a Twitter Space centered around discussing the latest Marvel Disney+ TV show. Chances are there might be a new friendship just around the corner.
