User-created Content

Personally, I am a member of a number of user-created content websites and social networks: YouTube, Blogger (obviously), deviantART, Facebook, and LinkedIn. When it comes to being actively involved in these online communities, I'll admit, I'm not as much of a joiner as I could be. With the exception of Facebook and YouTube (and sometimes deviantART), I mostly just post my own stuff, paying little heed to the content that others choose to share.

However, as stated in User-Created Content and Online Social Networks, "for those who are engaging in user-created content on the web, their participation is not necessarily understood in terms of exceptional 'creativity' or 'producing' cultural texts, but in terms of using the co-creation of media to interact and engage with each other and with the world" (Burgess & Banks, 2010, pp.299). This may sound super intellectual, but what it boils down to is essentially this: even if people are not creating and posting their own original content, they are still taking part in a world or community that shares their interests. People of my generation often find it easier to open up online and share information about their personal lives or join in discussions that they probably wouldn't share or join in their physical life. Although sites like Facebook clearly display a member's name, the magic of the Internet still seems to provide a sense, or the illusion, of anonymity that allows people to comfortably share information. I'll admit to being guilty of it myself. There have been times when, through the facelessness of online chats and discussions, I've said things that I wouldn't have had the courage to say aloud or in a real world conversation.

References:

Burgess, J., & Banks, J. (2010). User-created content and online social networks. In S. Cunningham & G. Turner (Eds.), The media & communications in Australia (3rd Ed., pp. 295-306). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.