Seeking Human Connection in Online Communities

Can discussion forums, Facebook groups, video games, and MMOs serve the role of 'third places' where individuals can garner worthwhile connections over the Internet?

---

For online groups on social media, forging meaningful communities entail encouraging commitment, engagement, garnering like-minded individuals and a baseline of group homogeneity. The research in the communication field questions the validity of these online communities almost mimicking or replacing the idea of a real-life public spaces or third places.

Can we equate 'massively multiplayer online games' (MMOs), per say, to that of a coffee shop where people connect socially, converse, and interact?

These multiplayer games innately hold strikingly similar functionalities as said-third places, for these are hubs of social interaction. The counterarguments lie in the possible superficiality of these connections.

Online communities are not limited to video games, MMOs, or virtual worlds: groups online like Facebook groups have the potential to gather multiple people. What an MMO , offers people however, reminiscent of cafes or public places are social interaction, varied individuals that are mostly homogenous in interests, and people that share commonalities. Discord is another app that facilitates the creation of 'servers' to forge masses of people who bond over similar (specific) passions, apps, media, or content. This generation's third place leans towards online communities that encourages collaboration, participation, and a shared mutual of understanding. Discord achieves this criteria through its ability to enhance communication amongst individuals.