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The Link between Online and Offline Community Activism
(2006)
Аннотация
The purpose of the current study is to investigate the link between online activism and organizational membership and civic activism in the local community. We took advantage of the existence of spontaneously organized community bulletin boards in two suburban communities in Israel and collected data from local residents that participate and the ones that do not participate in these lists. We compare both groups in the level of locally based membership and participation in civic activities in order to find out whether online political activism is translated in face to face participation and community based social activism. The findings show that online local involvement has a positive effect on organizational membership and participation in civic activities, beyond and over the effect of social and economic stakes in the community. The results provide a further indication that online activities matter and have an effect on every day life of local communities. The implications of the findings for the formation of community social capital and directions for future research are discussed.
