This comes after comments made by cultural historian Jon Lawrence, who has claimed that the ‘Facebook generation’ is more likely to forge worthwhile social connections than previous generations, because they are able to choose them.
The history professor at the University of Exeter said that because previous communities were built solely by proximity, people were often left isolated with no one else to turn to when disagreements occurred.
Mr Lawrence believes a small distance is healthy to build happy and mutual relationships.
Doctor Bex Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University told Premier the digital world exposes people to a wider community to learn from and grow with.
She said: “There are times when you kind of get cut off from other people and you need to deal with the situation but you don’t know how to and actually getting advice from people who are the other end of the country can be really, really helpful.”
Dr Lewis argued that communities no longer need to be defined by location and the digital space can be a positive way to bring people together.
The lecturer, who suffers from cancer, has found her online community has acted as a form of church family throughout difficult moments: “I’ve been blogging about my experience. I’ve been able to let people know on social media when I need help, if physically, I’m not…
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