Online Communities: Networks that Nurture Long-Distance Relationships and Local Ties

This report, and the project that informs it, addresses an expressed concern that skyrocketing use of the Internet might have significant -- and, in some cases, deleterious -- impacts on the human community. This concern stems from two related sources of worry: first, that Internet users might become isolated due to the nature of the activity; second, that those who spend time online might abandon contact with their local communities as they discover how easy and quick it is to communicate with others in "cyberspace".

In order to determine the validity of this concern, the Pew Internet and Life Project conducted a survey of 1,697 Internet users in January and February, 2001. In brief, the study found that "the online world is a vibrant social universe where many Internet users enjoy serious and satisfying contact with online communities. These online groups are made up of those who share passions, beliefs, hobbies, or lifestyles..." More specifically, the study found that 84% of Internet users, or approximately 90 million Americans, report having contacted an online group.

Here are further details, excerpted from the Summary of Findings:

90 million Americans have participated in online groups

• 84% of Internet users, or about 90 million Americans, say they have used the Internet to contact or get information from a group. We call them "Cyber Groupies."
• 79% of Cyber Groupies identify at least one particular group with which they stay in regular contact.
• 49% of Cyber Groupies say the Internet has helped them connect with groups or people who share their interests.
• Cyber Groupies try out different groups; the average Cyber Groupie has contacted four online groups at one time or another.

Use of the Internet often prompts Americans to join groups. More than half of Cyber Groupies (56%) say they joined an online group after they began communicating with it over the Internet. This includes those who joined traditional groups whose existence predated the Internet, such as professional or fraternal groups. In other words, Internet access is helping people join all kinds of communities, including those that are not exclusively virtual communities.

• 40% of Cyber Groupies say the Internet has helped them become more involved with groups to which they already belong.

28 million have used the Internet to deepen their ties to their local communities.

In addition to helping users participate in communities of interest that often have no geographical boundaries the Internet is a tool for those who are involved with local groups, particularly church groups.

• 26% of Internet users have employed the Internet to contact or get information about local groups. That comes to 28 million people.

Virtual third places

In the face of widespread worries that community activity is ebbing in the United States, these findings demonstrate that the Internet, while not necessarily turning the tide, has become an important new tool to connect people with shared interests globally and locally. In some ways, online communities have become virtual third places for people because they are different places from home and work. These places allow people either to hang out with others or more actively engage with professional associations, hobby groups, religious organizations, or sports leagues.

Online communities foster chatter and connection

These groups are lively online communities. People exchange emails, hash out issues, find out about group activities, and meet face-to-face as a result of online communities. Approximately 23 million Americans are very active in online communities, meaning that they email their principle online group several times a week.

• 60% of Cyber Groupies say they use email to communicate with the group; of these emailers 43% email the group several times a week.
• 33% of the 28 million Local Groupies who use email send email to their main local organization several times a week.

More contact with different people

Many Cyber Groupies and Local Groupies say that online communities have spurred connections to strangers and to people of different racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.

• 50% of Cyber Groupies say that participation in an online community has helped them get to know people they otherwise would not have met.
• 35% of Local Groupies say that participation in an online community has helped them get to know people they otherwise would not have met. This lower number relative to Cyber Groupies may be due to the fact that Local Groupies probably were acquainted already with members of the online group.
• 37% of Cyber Groupies say the Internet has helped them connect with people of different ages or generations.
• 27% of Cyber Groupies say the Internet has helped them connect with people from different racial, ethnic, or economic backgrounds.

The types of connections people establish depend on the kind of group to which they belong. Members of some cyber groups go to their groups to establish personal relationships, while others just want to keep up with group news and activities...

Joiners of online groups differ from those who belonged to the group prior to participating in it via the Internet

There are differences between those who have used the Internet to join a group and those who use the Internet to participate in groups to which they already belong. Many who join online groups are relative newcomers to the Internet. They tend to be urban dwellers, young adults, and less well-educated than the typical Internet user. As a cohort they are more ethnically diverse than other Internet users, and more likely to be interested in online groups relating to fun activities...

Civic involvement by the young

These differences among Joiners -- particularly their relative youth, newness to the Internet, and racial diversity -- suggests that the Internet may be drawing a segment of the population to community engagement who have not been very tied to civic activities....In other words, the primary draw to online communities for young people appears to be hobby groups; however, a secondary outcome, as young people surf to other online communities, is to connect many to groups that help foster civic engagement.

The Internet's role in local engagement

At the local level, people use the Internet mainly as an information utility to find out about local merchants and community activities. The Internet's role in public deliberation is modest. Public access to the Internet is only moderately available throughout the United States.

• 41% Internet users say that they "often" or "sometimes" go online to seek out information about local stores or merchants.
• 35% of Internet users "often" or "sometimes" go online for news about their local community or to find out about community events.
• 30% go online "often" or "sometimes" for information about local government.
• 24% go online "often" or "sometimes" to get information about local schools.
• 13% of Internet users say that they "often" or "sometimes" email public officials. This low rate may be because only half of all Internet users say their town has a Web site, and few Internet users find the town's Web site very useful.
• 11% of Internet users say that they are aware of at least one local issue in which the Internet played a role in organizing citizens to communicate with public officials.However, this percentage doubles to 22% for Internet users who are active members of online communities.
• 51% percent of all Americans know of a place in their community where the Internet is publicly available. Overwhelmingly, these places are public libraries. African-Americans are the most likely to say that their community lacks public access to the Internet; 42% of African-Americans say their community does not have publicly available Internet terminals somewhere, compared with 29% of whites and 33% of Hispanics.