I love virtual communities for one main reason—anyone can belong. Whether you’re a successful businessman or a shy eighth grader, there is a community out there that you can belong too, whether it be a library or favorite tv show. Throughout the reading, the one sentence that really nailed down what virtual communities were all about was Michael’s virtual communities presentation: “The virtual community does not include identification with a place, but it does require common ties and social interaction” (Driskell and Lyon 2002).

I was twelve when my family went “online.” Like most of you around my age who had brand new access to the Internet in the teenage years, I was an AOL junkie who not only enjoyed instant messaging friends (my screen name was DAZZLE2330 – only later did I find out that I was “shouting” my name at everyone!) but also frequented the chat rooms. The chat rooms were my first virtual community. They were divided up usually by age group, so I was able to chat with other teens. Anyone else remember those days? When entering a room, you’d identify yourself by age and gender (12/f) and wait for someone (hopefully a guy in my case!) to address you. Then you’d chat and eventually leave the chat room and start instant messaging that person so you could find out more interesting information.

Those chat rooms were the jumping off point for me and many others to get comfortable on the Internet. I’d spend hours online talking to other teens who lived around the country. Whether I was interested in sports, art, or basket-weaving, I could find someone to talk to. I could find somewhere to belong.