Answer to Question #296519 in Philosophy for Jennis

Question

The virtual society is a product of a post-industrial society. Write an argumentative essay about the pros and cons of engaging in the virtual society.

Answer 1

Virtual society refers to a social form where people do not have to live, meet, or work face to face in order to develop or maintain a significant relationship. Virtual societies are social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace. They will be communities not of common location, but of common interest.

One can benefit from online communities in many ways. Most importantly, it gives detailed views, connects with people, and ensures effective communication. They provide insights into customers' preferences and needs, can increase customer retention and loyalty, improve reputation and thought leadership, decrease support costs, and allow more collaborative ways of working, including crowdsourcing.

The disadvantages of using the online community focused on 5 areas of concern: design and navigation issues, uncertain quality of user-generated content, negative comparisons with others, excessive time commitments, and data privacy concerns. Further, users get addicted to the virtual world, technology is still experimental, and training in a virtual environment is not real.