INTERNET, VIRTUALIDAD Y COMUNIDAD

Abstract

This paper offers some elements of discussion to conceptualize the groups emerging in the context of computer-mediated-communication. First, the notion of community is examined using some theoretical perspectives in the field of social sciences. Second, the main conceptions of the relation between the virtual and the real are discussed, applied also to the concept of community. In conclusion, an alternative definition of “virtual community” is suggested in order to account for the sociotechnical exchanges that characterize the Internet.