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Definitions

Digital community (circle) 

Firstly, let us separate the digital from community. In terms of community, key aspects that appear is most definitions include sharing something in common with the other members, whether it be values, interests, goals, or purpose (8, 9, 10). These aspects can be separated into different types of communities:

  1. Support communities: A place for users to request and provide help on a specific subject, such as an auto-repair community where people can ask for maintenance and repair help.
  2. Discussion communities: A place for users to discuss a common interest, such as a community where people can talk about their favourite TV show, sports team, or a hobby like woodworking.
  3. Action communities: A place for users to plan and work towards a common goal together, such as a community focused on organizing fundraisers for charity causes. 

All three types of community can be applicable to a university setting, in the context of students: specialist interest groups, the second type of community is the most applicable. What aligns all communities together, however, is the need to meet an objective(s). It is worth noting that individuals may not necessarily share values or identities, among other social aspects, but are united by the set of objectives for that community.

In relation to digital communities, there are many variations for the term, such as virtual communities, online communities, virtual group, digital peer network, to name a few. Due to this, it is hard to pinpoint one definition that encompasses all that digital communities are. Some institutions class them as virtual communities, whereas others call them online support spaces. At the University of Bradford, we preferred those definitions that explicitly mentioned the word “digital” so that it was evident where the support or communication was occurring.

Equally, the term community, although encompassing of the purposes of a digital space for support and sharing of information, felt too general and somewhat overused. As a result, we decided the term “Digital Circle” was explicit yet powerful for evoking images of togetherness online. This term will be applied throughout this document in place of digital communities. It is the readers’ discretion whether they adopt our term or use one that is more appropriate for the audience they wish to attract.  

It is important to note the below distinctions regarding what we are referring to when we use the term ‘digital circle’ in the context of this guidance:

  • We are not talking about non-higher education digital circles.
  • We are not talking about formal teaching that occurs online such as lectures, seminars, or tutorials.

An online lecture, seminar or tutorial does not constitute a community or circle because that is the method of teaching and platform of delivery. These may be components of a digital circle, but logging into a Zoom or Teams lecture does not explicitly mean you are part of a circle. Instead, digital circles relate to the spaces that are set up for discussions and conversations to occur between students and staff relating to sharing event information, offering guidance to peers, and creating relationships. The virtual learning environments (VLE) may be used to set up a digital circle, but this does not mean the VLE itself is the digital circle.

That is not to say that other contexts (than the one stipulated above) may find our guidance useful and they are welcome to use it if it is deemed appropriate.

Wellbeing and Mental Health 

The term "well-being" is a vast, multidimensional concept. In general, the term "wellbeing" is used to define a person's state in terms of social, economic, psychological, spiritual, or medical status (12). It refers to all the positive aspects of an individual’s life that they experience (13).

Wellbeing and mental health are intrinsically linked, with mental health being defined as a “state of well-being in which an individual realises their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, thus being able to positively contribute to their community” (14).

This can be broken down further, with mental health comprising of three key areas of wellbeing. Namely:

  • Emotional well-being: Refers to the state of happiness, satisfaction and having a general positive view on life
  • Psychological well-being: Refers to the ability of having control over one’s own personality
  • Social-well-being: Refers to positive functioning that enables individuals have good relationships with others, contribute to the community (social contribution) and have a sense of belonging i.e., social integration (15).

In the context of higher education, a student’s university experience can have a profound effect on their wellbeing and mental health. Recently, the Open University, which is the largest academic institution in the UK, identified that “12.2% of students (16,139 in total) disclosed a mental health condition in 2019–20, compared to the UK sector average of 4.2%” (16).

Research shows that feeling a sense of belonging, whilst at university, improves a student’s chances of both social inclusion and academic success (1, 17, 18). Not only this, but it also reduces the chance of feeling isolated and lonely, which is being reported by young adults more regularly (especially since Covid 19) (19). Digital circles are a simple, accessible, and established tool for overcoming this and evoking a sense of belonging amongst students (see Chapter 4, for more information on this).

Belonging and loneliness 

Belonging, as a concept, relates to an individual’s sense of self and is tied to their social identity. Brower explains that for an individual to feel like they truly belong, “you must feel unity and a common sense of character with and amongst members of your group.” (18).

In the context of higher education, belonging relates to feeling connected to peers and staff, feeling valued on their course or in their friendship circles and most importantly feeling accepted for who they are. Experiencing low levels of belonging can result in feeling isolated, helpless and may result in student drop-out (1, 2).

Startingly, feeling lonely whilst at university is being reported by students far more regularly than ever before, “with nearly one-in-four feeling lonely ‘all’ or ‘most’ of the time” (19). Loneliness and isolation are not just a result of being on your own. It can occur even if you have social connections (although it is usually when these are poor that you feel loneliness in its full extent) (20). This is evidenced in the below findings:

“35 per cent of respondents report feeling lonely at university, rising to 73 per cent of those who do not feel they belong…A quarter (26 per cent) of those who feel they belong still agree they feel lonely at university” (21).

Certain groups of students, such as international and distance learners, BAME students, disabled students and mature students experience higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of belonging compared to their peers (Wheadon, 2021; McVitty et al., 2022). Digital communities can aid students' feeling lonely by offering a means of social connection and support. An important note is that for these circles to fully work, universities should ensure they are inclusive of all types of students and that they have the means to sustain and monitor these groups accordingly. Equally, they need to set circles up, prior to the academic year starting, so students can form connections before coming onto campus.