Brits going online to tackle community issues
- Added:
- Jun 17, 2008
People are increasingly looking to the web to address community issues, with over a quarter (28%) of those online in the UK having joined up as members of community action or charity groups on social networking sites, such as Facebook, according to a new survey.
Whilst the younger age group is more likely to use these online campaigning tactics (59% of 18-24 year olds, 42% for 25-34 year-olds), the 55+ age group would also take online action, with 14% already members of social networking groups and nearly a fifth (17%) saying they would use the web to find others who share their views, compared with 23% overall.
The YouGov survey was commissioned by the UK Catalyst Awards, which aim to recognise individuals, organisations and community groups who are using social technology for social good.
The survey showed that when faced with a community issue they feel strongly about:
- Nearly a third (29%) of 18-24 year-olds would start an online group or campaign and 37% would go online to find others with their views
- Traditional forms of activism are more popular with older age groups: 71% of people aged 55+ would write to their local MP, but this is still a tool popular amongst young people with 36% of 18 - 24 year-olds saying they would do so
- 18-24 year olds are half as likely to write to their local paper as the 55+ age group (25% compared to 51%)
- Young people are using the widest variety of social action tools suggesting they are adopting the same 'bite-size' media snacking approach to campaigning as they do to news consumption and communicating with friends
Dan McQuillan from Make Your Mark which is coordinating the awards, said: "We've seen just how powerful social media can be in catalysing collective action - from the rise of the Arctic Monkeys on MySpace, to silent discos organised via Facebook. We're now also seeing social technology being used to tackle community issues, and our awards are looking for the very best undiscovered examples."
The UK Catalyst Awards are looking to discover the social activists currently using this technology. Applicants can enter at: www.ukcatalystawards.com.
Applicants can enter or be nominated for something they have done individually or as part of their work for a business, charity, community group or other organisation. The entrants could have created their own social technology or used existing channels innovatively.
The UK Catalyst Awards applications deadline is Friday 20 June 2008.