People are going to the internet to connect with other people for various reasons. The decision to participate in online groups or communities depends on the individuals ties to technology. It was noted that most people that are active in groups are active in just over 3 different types of groups and would more likely be an owner of a cellphone.
The internet is bringing more people together faster and most people who are tech users are trusting of their group members opinions and views. Participation is voluntary, however, there is temptation that could sway a person to participate in a group that may genuinely not want to. The internet is a big book of unending information most Americans regardless of their race or social status will utilize the internet in one way or another in a voluntary fashion, it is hard to force someone to use the internet.
Civic engagement and social capital complement one another. Of the internet communities religious and church groups were found to be the more popular surveyed. In addition, church groups had a larger pool of participants the level of trust in their groups and communities was higher. The participants of religious groups will experience higher social capital due to these factors and the relationships are deeper because more often than not members of the same church will be participating in online activities together as well.
At my church they have just started to form groups by requesting the members of the church to text their hobbies and interests to a number that filters to different group leaders within the church. Technology is connecting people with like interests and creating social capital to help people gain relationships, knowledge, and resources much like a physical community would offer.
You said it best when you mentioned that the internet is bringing more people together faster. It’s easier to organize civic and other types of group participation than ever before because you can communicate with the group more efficiently thanks to email, social network sites, online forums, listservs etc. It also makes sense that those who use social network sites are more likely to be engaged in offline organizations. If you are involved in a church or civic group, social network sites are your best friend. I’ve seen it happen first hand. In supporting the sustainability of FedExFamilyHouse, we leverage Facebook, a website, email blasts, etc. to keep people who have been to the house engaged and coming back to volunteer and donate. I can’t imagine how difficult this would have been 20 years ago. We would have had to use standard mail and cold calls.
I agree with you that the internet is bringing more people together faster. This probably is way easier than the way it was in the past. I cant really look back and say how it was, but can imagine. Staying connected reaches farther and even worldwide if needed.
I had never thought about the idea of having people text in their interests to form groups. That is very interesting! It wasn’t that long ago that I only had 200 texts a month, and I guess I text a lot less than the average young adult. Texting has so much potential for organizations, and I think it will be utilized much more in the years to come.
I think the level of connectedness the internet offers has either enhanced our sense of trust or awakened a latent need to display our opinions to a mass audience. Either way, we are putting out more information about ourselves than ever. This may actually be helping us in a way. By putting out information about ourselves, we may be fostering a sense of closeness with our latent ties since they are previewed to information about us, and are then more willing to provide us with help when we ask for it. This was touched on several times in our course readings about people asking for information in their FB statuses and receiving more diverse information from latent ties.