| Computer-mediated communications have given rise to "Virtual Communities." They often mirror and mimic their 'actual' counterparts, but are distinguishable from them in being a-spatial, a-synchronous, and a-corporeal.;The dissertation makes no attempt to predict the adoption and diffusion pattern of any particular technology. Instead, having adopted a structural functionalist perspective, it examines the introduction of historically important technologies in order to uncover the displacements and substitutions provoked by each of them. A framework is provided through which "Virtual Communities" may be examined in order to gauge how best to maximize their anticipated benefits while minimizing their inevitable negative consequences.;After the overview of previous communications technologies and the "Virtual Communities" they engendered, currently-developing technologies, such as E-mail, Teleconferencing, Telecommuting, Distance Learning, and Distance Medicine are considered by way of illustration of the process involved in displacement and modification.;A case study chapter, using shopping and religion, analyzes the impact of new communications technologies on existing social functions. They are compared with their electronic counterparts, suggesting the range of possibilities that exist as these new technologies come into the mainstream of society.;New communications technologies allow for, facilitate, and sometimes require new forms of social organization. The dissertation, in the form of an analytical and interpretative essay, examines how the replacement of face-to-face interaction by "Virtual Communities" may well modify established social structures.;The on-going development of the Information Superhighway indicates the continuing impact of electronic forms of communication on the form and shape of "Actual Communities." Lack of equal access to on-line services in this age of information superabundance may well have a detrimental effect upon society.;Previously adopted complications innovations have had profound implications for society; everything suggests that the adoption and diffusion of the new communication technologies will be similar. Beyond the professional research community, insufficient attention has been paid to the nature of these implications. This dissertation suggests that public debate about the consequences of the on-going switch to "Virtual Communities" is essential if the negative and unintended consequences of such a move are to be minimized. |
