Why Community Counts in a Technological World

These days we’re more likely than ever before to live away from our families, to move for work or study, and conduct a vast portion of our socialising via technology. In a world where we can connect with others at the push of a button, a physical community with the security and warm social embrace it provides matters perhaps more than ever before.

Here are five reasons community counts in a technological world.

A local network

Long gone are the days when you found work in your home town and shifted down the street from your parents to start a new life. These days the social support networks we grew up with tend to be far removed from the experience of our adult lives, where we find ourselves setting up house in cities and towns across Australia, sometimes with children in tow, to gain employment.

And while it’s all well and good to Skype friends from your childhood and have a good old fashioned gossip online, who do you go to the movies with, meet for drinks or share a lazy Sunday afternoon barbecue by the beach?

This dislocation from traditional communities makes establishing a local network imperative; from friends you can call on for advice to mates who’ll help you tune your car or help out with a spot of childcare.

Health

When you’re new to a community establishing a network is a proactive task where you actively seek out likeminded people and potential friends at work, in your neighbourhood or at your gym, with studies indicating friends are good for your health.

An article in the Huffington Post noted people have increasingly become disengaged with friends, family neighbours and organisations but it comes with a toll on our health. Conversely people with a wide network of friends and support have less tension, suffer from less stress, have stronger defences and live longer.

Security

Not only is a social network in your neighbourhood and local community imperative to happiness, it is also vital to your security and welfare. Having a group of contacts who will watch out for you, check in on you or even just pick up the mail when you are away all add to safety in an increasingly isolated world.

And this is where good neighbours are particularly critical, notifying you if something is amiss at your property or even just lending that clichéd cup of sugar.

Welfare

Statistics indicate Australians are becoming increasingly likely to live alone at some point in their lives, whether that’s when they’re young and making a break into a brave new world, have suffered a marriage breakdown or are in their golden years.

A social network, particularly in a local vicinity, wards off the feeling of isolation, loneliness and ultimately depression. While these are risk factors for people living on their own of all age groups, it particularly applies to the elderly or single parents, who may desperately need a support network that once they would have had access to in an extended family situation.

People power

By nature humans are communal beings, having moved from the villages of old into the new networks of housing, neighbourhoods, suburbs and cities. The identity we derive from our location and community not only unites people but gives them power when it comes to tackling issues, creating projects and realising positive outcomes.

About us

At Strataspot, we’re all about community and exploring new technology to enhance face-to-face interaction.

Our cloud based software not only allows residents of communal buildings to access information about issues, seek maintenance, and book communal facilities, it also provides a portal to connect with neighbours and build stronger relationships.

Whether that involves initiating a sports team, joining a mother’s group or creating a local dog walker’s club, our portal and app is helping build community in a technological age. You can learn more about our services and what they may offer your community here.