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How the Internet has United Like-Minded Communities

The internet changed the world in many ways. One of the most significant transformations has been how it has brought the world closer together. Like air travel made the world feel like a smaller place many years before, the internet has reduced the perception of space between us even further.

A key result of this is how like-minded people can now form communities and support each other regardless of location. In the 2000s, this community spirit was pioneered by early social networks like Myspace and Bebo, but thousands of smaller, niche communities have also thrived in the internet age.

The gaming community

The Ghost Recon community is a prime example. Despite the single-player nature of the titles that first appeared in 2001, the games quickly developed a community thanks to a thriving modification scene, and forums dedicated to allowing fans to interact. GhostRecon.net has been there since the beginning, supporting fans through all editions of the game that have been released over the last 20 years.

Whatever type of game you enjoy, there is probably a community you can join. Pre-internet games such as bingo have been given a new lease of life thanks to the online world. Anyone with an internet connection can access free bingo games on sites such as Buzz Bingo where there is a strong community element. There are blogs, chat rooms, videos and tons of other content all designed to bring the bingo community closer together.

Art and education

Another great example of a community being brought together by the internet is DeviantArt. The American site provides a space for the online art community to share illustrations, videography, and photography, among other things. The site has over 22,000,000 members with a lively forum and is still going strong after 22 years. DeviantArt has survived by keeping up to date with the latest developments in digital art, while also providing a platform for more traditional artwork. Recently, the site has stepped into the world of NFTs, indexing hundreds of millions of pieces from a range of blockchains, and providing a fraud detection service called Protect Protocol. There has also been talk of further forays into the world of Web3, a move which many companies are set to take in the coming years.

Education websites like Italki also rely on a global community to thrive. The site matches language students and tutors and lets community members link with exchange partners to practise their skills. That combined with language tips, discussions, and useful articles related to language learning has helped them build a community with over 3 million members.

From gaming and music to art and politics, and every subject in between, we can now connect with link-minded communities from all over the world. This network of global communities continues to grow and can often result in people meeting up and forming real-life friendships. This crossover between the digital world and the real world has changed the course of the social lives of millions of people. We can now form relationships without the restraints of location or nationality.