Episode 35: More about the Value of Online Community – Virtual Friendships are Real Friendships

*Virtual Kitchen Table is now an online community as well as a podcast. 😊 Check the link above and listen here for our thoughts. In this conversation, Anne from @obytheby and Eclectic Kids and Kendel from @spark.to.flame.homelearning, join in to discuss how interesting and authentic online connections can be. We Discuss: Connecting with people based on interests versus being in our physical lives Social media as a way of sharing inspiration Online friends and acquaintances as another layer of people we wonder and care about Facebook as a way to find local people and build in-person community That sharing the highlights encourages others to find the glimmers and be inspiredBridging the differences by focusing on the little niche points we have in common rather than noticing differences – maybe it’s easier to do that with online contacts than with in-person relationshipsPrivate community as having a purpose of connecting more meaningfully than social media and meeting specific needsAsynchronous communication as a way of having time to think through responses and interactions The pressure to join the next new thing – TikTok, Substack, Threads, etc – and feeling reactive about being expected to join simply because people say you should 😉The ability to communicate in more depth and vulnerability online because we’re not connected in regular in-person ways where we have connections that could go sideways or lead to gossip or conflict The paradox of small talk – the opportunity to skip the small talk and get quickly to a deep level of knowing, yet the genuine interest in the everyday things of someone’s life once connecting at a deep level “Resting into” a level of trust and acceptance Virtual friendships as being a key entry point at the adult level rather than getting to know people because the kids know each other which is quite common in in-person life. How many homeschool parents move past talking about homeschooling and parenthood once their kids are beyond those years and the beauty of being able to find people online who share the same passion for continuing to focus on it as kids get older The accessibility of podcasts and writing and choosing to directly connect with people who are creating and sharing The range of stages people are in within the homeschooling and unschooling community and the reciprocity of learning How people who homeschooled and unschooled as kids already know it can “work” so there’s less need to gather assurance in that area and more time to enjoy the living and learning “Virtual overwhelm” and Fear of Missing Out That often “You know when you know” in the sense that you come into contact with the style or writer or peer that resonates with you and that you find encouragement from The flexibility and space to participate as makes sense for us – community as support and not pressure Our conditioning that participation has to look a certain way What the virtual world will look like when this much larger cohort of home educated kids are adults – will there be as much need for reassurance?Online overload and the potential benefit of beginning home ed before the rise of social media, blogs and podcasts. The growing societal acceptance of online friendships as real friendships Finding ways to take care of and look out for one another across the internet The mark of true community being the felt absence of someone when they aren’t there Resources: Virtual Kitchen Table CommunityEver Learning Living Joyfully NetworkThe Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace LlewellynEclectic Kids (Anne’s website)@obytheby (Anne’s Instagram account)@spark.to.flame.homelearning