The internet allows people to connect and participate in many groups that are devoted to civic issues, such as social or religious groups. There are literally tons of different groups to become involved with, from religious organizations to volunteer groups to community awareness clubs. The great thing about using the internet as a tool is that it allows for a wide range of different people to participate. I didn’t find this study to be very surprising, because I do notice that more of my personal social group uses the internet to participate in various civic groups. A lot of my friends are runners, so they use different marathons’ facebook pages or twitter feeds (such as LuvMud or NashVegas) to sign up for the run or stay connected to other runners. Quite a few of my friends are involved in charitable organizations, and they use the social media pages for these groups to post information and organize different things in the city. The power of the internet is that it can deliver information to a large number of different people, very quickly, which is great for civic groups as well individuals in need!
Obviously, social capital is directly linked with civil engagement. When a person is actively involved in a civic organization’s social network site, they can form new bonds with the other members. Generally there is crossover from the online site to real life, so many members do have a real world connection to each other. Plus, there is a level of support and consideration for each other that exists within these groups. There are actual connections being made, and its more likely that real friendships will arise.
7 thoughts on “Civic Engagement and Social Capital”
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Social capital and civic engagement are partners in that they create stronger ties among the community/group members. However, I am skeptical that real friendships arise. I am leaning to stronger networks versus actual friendships.
Great blog!
I would certainly say that it’s not guaranteed that an offline contact will turn into a new friend, I think what Laura was saying is that by using SNSs to get involved with groups, you would be more likely to get more involved in face-to-face activities with those groups, which could then lead to the formation of friendships.
Friendships may be a stretch, but I’ve made a lot of new “weak ties” through SNSs by being involved in one organization, and that connection led me to another. For example, I follow someone on Twitter that went to school and majored in the same program with me although we never had classes together. We followed each other because of our mutual involvement within the academic program, and through him I have found other organizations which I have since joined. Without the internet, I may not have been exposed to the secondary groups through this person, especially since it is not someone I engage in direct communication with.
I agree that the internet provides a wider range of groups to better suit everyone. You can connect with passionate people who share your interests, and are looking to stay informed, get involved, and potentially make a difference. It is very rewarding when a group can organize and get things done. Traditional groups can be very frustrating in that regard, when the participants and resources are limited. (Think of coworker or random class groups, where the interest and devotion is low). It helps to have people voluntarily unite around a cause rather than being coerced into membership.
I think there is still a level of distrust that keeps people from making those offline connections with people they’ve met online. Although they might communicate more often with that person online and feel like they have more in common, I believe people will still turn to an offline relationship to disclose something deeply personal or identifying.
I’m sure your friends who are runners have social capital to gain from sharing their accomplishments on social media, as well. They also likely benefit from seeing the accomplishments of others they are connected to on Twitter and Facebook, which could be inspirational to them in their own efforts.
Thats a really good point! The Nike App, the one that connects runners to each other by posting times and goal achievement, has been really helpful to a few of my friends. Its like constant encouragement to keep going.