One might argue that it is an unfortunate sign of our fragmented and anomie-wracked society that we are driven to try to find a way out of our loneliness through virtual communities. But the reverse argument can also be made, and that is the position taken up in this paper, that virtual communities are not a pale substitute for real ones but do in fact provide the kind of organic solidarity that was an essential part of traditional societies. But it is certainly true that online communities have now taken on the role formerly served by real communities. And because of this the same processes of the construction of social identity now take place on line that take place in face-to-face situations.
