The production of social discourses in digital environments: The digital community as a social research methodology

Abstract

The ‘digital community’ is a methodological proposal for social research rooted in the qualitative method and developed in the digital context. It redefines the identity of the participant subject, empowering and qualifying their role through prolonged engagement over time. The versatility and flexibility afforded by the Internet (Web 2.0) mean that digital communities are infused with the best of our time, placing them at the service of the personal narrative that the participant subject constructs of the object of study under investigation. The research presented here aims to validate this qualitative scientific method through the analysis of the experiences of eighteen participants of digital communities, on the basis of in-depth interviews and observation of digital participation in blogs and forums over the period of one year. The article shows how the digital community provides the optimal conditions for capturing social discourse and the complexity of life.