Abstract

The aim of this essay is to show that the expansion of the electronic communication technologies leads to the appearance of new forms of communities the function of which are to foster communities of interest and equality of status all work to enhance social capital, despite their lack of direct physical orientation. Mediated individuals treat these mediated communities as real. That is, the role of communication as value-based in mediated communities works to create traditional forms of communities as well. To understand why these new forms of communities can be regarded as moral entities, we wish to highlight how communal existence affects our moral decisions and judgements in the information age.