VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES: CONTRIBUTION TO DIGITAL AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

Technological advancement occurs at exponential rate, and along with it the increasing need for digital inclusion. This article is the result of study among the communities present in the virtual social network Orkut. This is a research around the question: do these sites are helping people to become socially and digitally included? Sample was taken as 10 participants of 8 different virtuals communities that are related to digital inclusion/social members. It was found that although the virtual space has tools to improve and facilitate communication and learning, the issue of social and digital inclusion through this space has been occurring as little evident despite the commitments published by the communities.