YOUNG PEOPLE AND VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES. NEW WAYS OF LEARNING AND OF SOCIAL PARTICIPATION IN THE DIGITAL SOCIETY

This paper is based on a research project developed in Spain, where we explored how and what young people learn in virtual communities. Although the term virtual community has been broadly used to approach online social interactions, it has generated several academic debates. Nevertheless, it is a useful term to define a social network made up mostly of young people who share an interest and choose to interact online with others to discuss, exchange, show their creations to the world, and promote certain values. As researchers on Sociology and Education, we find this phenomenon especially intriguing. We wonder why young people engage in virtual communities, why they should spend so much time interacting with others online and what benefits they consider they have. Our hypothesis is that it has to do with a shared sense of belonging to a community and the possibilities young people find to create opportunities to learn with and from each other. The results of this article are based on the analysis of seven case studies conducted in virtual communities, and they address two main questions: what leads young people to participate in virtual communities and how is learning and social participation promoted through virtual communities.