So, the open network lays the infrastructure for the formation of transnational communities, built around shared interests, rather than geographical location.
We're still monkeys, and our brains still haven't changed much from our savannah days, so we're always going to need a local support base. But those that lament the loss of "neighbourhood spirit" aren't wrong. Dunbar's number is a real limit, and if we're adding online communities that we have a deep connection with (as many of us do), then that's going to have an impact on the number of geographically local relationships we can realistically maintain.