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Alice Higgins discusses her participation in digital communities like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, highlighting how they benefit her personally by providing relaxation, entertainment, learning opportunities, and social connections. She also explores the sociological perspective of these communities, emphasizing their role in organizing society, maintaining relationships, and fostering group interactions based on shared interests. However, she acknowledges the issues digital communities can bring, such as time consumption, stress, comparison, harmful content, and privacy concerns. Alice emphasizes the importance of balance in engaging with these platforms to safeguard mental health and relationships. Hello, everyone, and welcome to my podcast. My name is Alice Higgins, and today I am talking about the digital communities that I'm a part of and how they affect my life. I'll also break down how these communities impact society using a sociological point of view. So let's get started. So the first question is, what digital communities am I a member of? So I am a part of a few digital communities that I use almost every day. The first one is YouTube. I'm a big YouTuber, especially for music and TV clips, because I love to listen to music, especially after I'm done with my classwork just to unwind. I also spend time on TikTok, and I sometimes use Facebook and Instagram, although Facebook and Instagram, I'm thinking about getting rid of those because I just don't really be on those anymore, like I used to. But these platforms are all different, but they each give me a way to connect with people, information and entertainment. My second question is, how do these digital communities benefit me personally? So YouTube definitely helps me relax. When I want to listen to music or watch something funny, YouTube is my go-to place. It's also a space where I can learn new things just by watching short videos. I picked up on plenty of recipes, learning how to fix things, anything that I can think of that I don't really know, I just go to YouTube. So TikTok benefits me because it gives quick entertainment. It's easy to watch videos on TikTok that may match my interests, so it feels like a space built just for me. It also helps me keep up with trends, news, and everyday life stories from people all around the world. Facebook and Instagram, they kind of help me stay connected with people that I know. Even though I don't post a lot, I still use those platforms to check in on friends and family and see what's going on and certain updates that they have. So in a way, it helps me stay social without having to talk to people every day. So my third question is, how do these digital communities benefit society in a sociological perspective? So digital communities play a huge role in how our society works today in a sociological perspective. So using functionalism, that's a theory that we learned about in class. We can see that digital communities help keep society organized and connected. They serve a purpose. For example, YouTube spreads information and teaches skills. TikTok brings people together through shared trends and humor. And Facebook and Instagram, they help maintain relationships even across long distances. All these platforms help society function by allowing people to communicate, learn, and form groups based on shared interests. They also create digital spaces where people can express themselves and feel like they belong, which is an important part of social life. Another idea from our course is the sociological imagination. This means looking at personal experiences and see how they connect to a larger world. So when I use social media, it feels personal. But really, I'm a part of a huge global network. My fourth question is, how do these digital communities cause issues or problems? So even though digital communities help me in many ways, they also come with problems. Sometimes these platforms can take up too much of my time. I find myself scrolling and an hour or two pass, and I didn't even plan for that. They can also create stress. Social media sometimes feels fake and negative. On Facebook and Instagram, people post like to theirs. I mean, they compare, like when people post on Instagram and Facebook, they normally post only the good moments. And it can make you compare your life to theirs. TikTok can also show harmful content or make people feel pressure to fit in. And another issue is privacy. So when we post, search, or watch something, these apps collect our data. Even if we don't think about it, our information is part of a bigger digital system. So if I'm not careful, these communities could affect my mental health, relationships, or how I see myself. That's why balance is so important. So digital communities like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram play a big role in my life. They entertain me, teach me, and help me stay connected. But like anything else, they can cause problems if I don't manage my time or pay attention to what I am taking in. Thank you all for listening to my podcast. I hope this helped you understand more about how digital communities affect our daily lives and our society.