You bring up a couple good points in the last paragraph.
A forum like this is more like going to the local coffee shop and chatting with local people who have a lot of the same interests and outlook on things, but you also get a bit of fresh input from those with different experiences and ideas. By local I don't necessarily mean geographically local, but more being a community, to use your word, with common overlapping interests. People may come and go from time to time, but if you're around long enough you'll get to know different people from their posts.
The big problem I see with "big" social media is the algorithm feeds you similar content to what you have already viewed. That can be a double-edged sword. People are usually wanting to see more of what they like or are interested in, but it can also make for a stale experience without enough new things to broaden horizons.
For hot button topics like politics, social issues, or religion it is especially bad because it leads to echo chamber thinking. I'd like to think I'm immune, but I don't think anybody is. I think social media algorithms are a big driver of the polarization we see in this country. We' might all be better if we could go back to a simpler time where people socialized in person at places like coffee shops, churches, sporting events, clubs, and fraternal organizations. People wouldn't always agree on politics or share exactly the same interests, but mapping it out as Venn diagrams, there was a lot more overlap in the center. Although I don't participate in social media except for YouTube, I recognize it is just as bad as other platforms for driving division and polarization. User beware I guess.
