Virtual Communities – A Study of a Protean Identity

Abstract. The many sides and possibilities brought about by the New Media led to a new perspective on society, culture, communication and interpersonal relationships. One of these possibilities became actual by the process of creating virtual communities, which immediately developed into real affinity networks, information and educational networks, networks for producing and broadcasting information etc. In this respect, my paper focuses on the main traits of the online communities, the most relevant elements that differentiate them from the classical communities, their limits and the most significant theoretical challenges. Thus, I try to study the ability of the Internet to bring about new ways of interacting that are capable of abolishing or diminishing the social fragmentation and the lack of communication in the offline life.