Clearly people have come to really value the communities they are building online,” Brooks writes. “Facebook Groups has 1.8 billion users, and more than half of them are in five or more groups. Instead, it was published on Facebook’s corporate website to promote a new study of groups that was funded by the social media giant. The column didn’t appear in Brooks’s usual spot in the Times, where he’s had a popular opinion column since 2003. On Tuesday, New York Times columnist David Brooks published a 900-word ode to Facebook Groups and how they foster online communities around the world.
