Komito, LeeLeeKomito2019-04-292019-04-292001 MCB U2001-01-01Journal of Documentation0022-0418http://hdl.handle.net/10197/10193Communities and neighbourhoods are often perceived to be under threat in the information society, as technological developments accelerate economic and social change. Technological developments may also provide a solution: 'virtual communities'. There has been much debate about whether virtual communities can exist, but in the midst of such debates there has been little recognition that 'community' is a complex phenomenon. Many varieties of community exist, which can be categorised as moral, normative or proximate. Evidence suggests that some varieties of community can be constituted via electronic communication, but it is probably not possible to replicate those features of community that many people find lacking in modern life. Such a lack, and the desire for virtual communities as a response to that lack, are symptomatic of individuals' disengagement from social and political participation. If the process continues, this suggests an information society constituted by segmented diversity with isolated pockets of sociability.enThis article is © Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007080. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Technological forecastingInformation systemsTechnologyJournal Article57111512910.1108/EUM00000000070802019-03-02https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/