An entire virtual community can atrophy or perish in the wink of an eye. To the extent that membership in virtual communities proves less stable than that obtained in other forms of democratic community, or that social relations prove less thick … there could be adverse consequences for individual psychological and moral development.
Predictor: Sclove, Richard
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “Democracy and Technology,” Richard Sclove writes: ”A strength – but also a drawback – to a virtual community is that any member can exit instantly. Indeed, an entire virtual community can atrophy or perish in the wink of an eye. To the extent that membership in virtual communities proves less stable than that obtained in other forms of democratic community, or that social relations prove less thick (i.e., less embedded in a context saturated in shared meaning and history), there could be adverse consequences for individual psychological and moral development.”
Biography:Richard Sclove was founder and an advisory board member of The Loka Institute, a nonprofit organization in Amherst, Mass., dedicated to making research, science and technology responsive to social and environmental concerns. He is also the author of the book “Democracy and Technology” (1995). (Futurist/Consultant.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Virtual Communities
Name of publication: Democracy and Technology
Title, headline, chapter name: Cybersobriety
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 80
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney