Social media, social capital and learning communities

Gerry White’s stimulus paper has given us a useful introduction to the work of the Digital Education Research Network (DERN) in highlighting and disseminating research into the use of digital technologies and media in schools, training, higher education and lifelong learning.  He concentrates most on formal education settings, but he emphasises that ‘the distinction between formal and informal learning has become artificial in a networked world’, and that the there is a ‘convergence of formal and informal learning’ in the face of high levels of use of the internet for educational purposes especially by young people, and often in the home rather than in a formal education setting.  In this paper I want to widen out the discussion to look at the use of the internet, and particularly social media, outside formal learning situations, and with a focus on their role in the changing patterns of community relations, links between communities and public authorities, and in building learning communities.

The relationship between technical innovations and subsequent social innovations varies enormously in significance, scale and speed.  The growth in the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter has been a major phenomenon of recent years.  It is an example of a technical innovation which has led to significant and rapid social innovation through the possibilities it opens up for information sharing, interpersonal communication, supporting group and community action, as well as a host of other applications in, for example, political campaigning, national and local government, business and marketing.  Facebook is now reported to have over 750m users worldwide and Twitter over 100m.  At this level, Facebook is now equivalent to the 3^rd largest ‘country’ in the world in population terms.

There has emerged a growing community of practice in the effective use of these media in many of the areas of application highlighted above, and more systematic research about users and impacts is beginning to emerge.  In this paper I want to draw on some of the themes in this research and practice to explore the use of social media in the changing environment of city neighbourhoods, and as tools for the (re)construction of community, social capital and learning communities.

The changing context

Recent years have seen profound changes in the context in which public policy and services are developed and delivered.  Debates about the scope of the role of the state, about the capacity of public services to effectively intervene in the complexity of many social issues, and austerity in public expenditure, are all placing enormous pressures on public agencies to find innovative approaches to public services. 

Furthermore, a move in many countries towards increased emphasis on regionalism and localism is not only changing the locus for the determination of public policy but is also increasing the awareness of the importance of place and community as the arena in which people lead their lives.  National, regional and local governments not only now increasingly recognise the need to work more closely together, but also  to connect with communities if locally-based and locally relevant policy solutions are to be developed and adopted.

This changing policy environment is also influenced by changes to patterns in employment and social life.  A number of studies have pointed to reduced patterns of social engagement and a changing balance between what Sabatini has referred to as ‘private time’ (the production and consumption of material goods), and ‘social time’ (the production and consumption of relational goods).  A relative decline in ‘social time’ arguably has important consequences if it is social participation which generates durable ties which in the long run accumulate into a stock of social capital. A reduction in ‘social time’ may also have important implications for the cohesion of communities, and the very participation which the pressures on policy-makers referred to above to innovate and ‘go local’ depend.

There are also important demographic changes to note, not only in age structure, but also in terms of familiarity with and expectations of technology.   The rise of the ‘digital native’ who has grown up with the expectation that digital technologies provide a normal way of interaction with organisations and individuals, and for seeking solutions to social issues.  There is a perception that we are not so much looking for applications for emerging technologies but now accepting that new technologies are likely to be part of any innovative solution to social issues.

The emerging role of social media

All of these features are suggestive of an increased role for digital technologies. The adoption of digital technological solutions seems to offer policy makers and service providers with cheaper options for innovation and for new ways of increasing the connectivity between levels of government and between government and the communities they serve.  Interactive web technology provides new ways of delivering information and accessing services. It also provides very rapid ways of consulting about changes and assessing response to policy initiatives, and pinpointing local issues in need of attention.

There is also the possibility that digital technology and social media particularly can redress the balance between ‘private’ and ‘social’ time by substituting digital relations for otherwise ‘face-to-face’ social relations.  And as a greater proportion of the population become part of the digital generation, so will confidence to turn to technological solutions increase to tackle a wide range of social concerns including the exercise of citizenship, participation in decision-making, social inclusion and shared learning.  Community groups have not been slow to adopt such media to bring interested people together and promote community action and activities.  In many cities there are now networks of ‘savvy’ people working to support the use of such approaches by community groups,  and numerous examples of well-informed and organised community groups pressing for action on issues affecting their local areas.

So what does recent research tell us about the emerging role of social media?

Antoci et al (2011) have reviewed recent research.  They contend that social networking has made it simpler to interact with others without the limitations of geography and lack of time, and argue, consistent with results from recent studies in the fields of applied psychology and communication science, that web-mediated interaction can play a major role in the preservation and development of interpersonal relations. They identify studies to show that participation through online networks can help individuals to maintain their social contacts from distant locations, for example after a transfer due to work commitments and that web-mediated interaction is less sensitive to a reduction in leisure time caused by an intense pace of work.

Noting that contact through social media is asynchronous, they reference studies which show that such interactions are not necessarily of inferior quality compared to simultaneous, face-to-face, interactions. Indeed some experiments have found that the depth of a friendship can be significantly improved by computer-mediated communication. Studies appear to show that through online relationships individuals become far better in expressing their true selves and feelings.  Interactions through the Internet can foster the social inclusion of individuals suffering from anxiety about social situations, interactions with others, and being evaluated by others.

In addition to the preservation and possible improvement of existing ties, interaction through social networks can foster the creation of new relations. Some social networking sites have been created with the explicit purpose of favouring physical encounters between members. For example, Academia.edu was conceived to encourage authors to meet and work together on new projects, whilst LinkedIn aims to foster a better matching between workers and employers in the job market, and whilst others provide a reference point for individuals aiming to build more personal relationships.

Ellison et al (2007) looked at the role of social media in the formation and maintenance of social capital. The study examines the relationship between use of Facebook and bonding and bridging social capital, and with a further dimension of social capital called maintained social capital which refers to the ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited community. Regression analyses conducted on results from a survey of undergraduate students (N=286) suggest a strong association between use of Facebook and the three types of social capital, with the strongest relationship being to bridging social capital. In addition, Facebook usage was found to interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction. Other researchers claim that web-mediated interaction contributes to the building of what has been called internet social capital that is the accumulation of a stock of knowledge, information and trust derived within virtual networks themselves.

A recent study in the US brought together the views of a non-random sample of experts on digital media on the social benefits of the internet (Anderson, J., Rainie, L.,2010).  A non-random sample of 895 internet experts recruited via email invitation, Twitter or Facebook from the Pew Research Centre Internet & American Life project and Elon University concluded that the social benefits of internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade. This is because, they say, email, social networks, and other online tools offer ‘low-friction’ opportunities to create, enhance, and rediscover social ties that make a difference in people’s lives. The internet lowers traditional communications constraints of cost, geography, and time; and it supports the type of open information sharing that brings people together.

The study also offers insights into the differences between the connected and the disconnected, revealing that Internet users are more likely to be active participants, with some 80 percent of Internet users participating in groups, compared with 56 percent of non-Internet users, suggesting an impact of the internet on collective action through civic organisations by making participation cheap and easy, if in a different form from hitherto.

Implications for governments, citizenship and communities

So it seems that there are suggestions in the emerging research literature that use of the internet, and particularly social media, is associated with maintaining social contacts (and possibly improving their quality), with the formation of new contacts and the discovery of new communities of interest, with the maintenance and enhancement of social capital including new forms of social capital, and with the likelihood of participation in groups and civic organisations.  Let us now turn to some observations on how these possibilities are being realised in the changing context of policy making, service delivery and community action outlined above.

Government

Governments over recent decades has already changed the way it conducts its business through the adoption of management processes from business, and as information technology has developed from mainframe computers to networks and on to the web and interactive web2.  The benefits to government were highlighted in a recent report of a discussion at Havard (Tumin and Fung 2011). Digitally enabled interactive approaches have blossomed as authorities realise the importance of connectivity and transparency through interaction with companies and community groups in the generating of relevant policies and services and assessing their impact and effectiveness.

Citizens and communities

Citizens and community groups have not stood still either in this period.  The proliferation of groups using social media is a feature of most modern communities and represents a different kind of connectedness for often more mobile people who find themselves in a particular place.  Participation offers a way to establish links with others over particular issues, or to protect, promote or attract resources or other people to enhance the well-being of that place.   

Learning communities and the intelligent community

Taken together, the widespread use of social media acts in a number of ways to encourage and sustain learning communities,  and foster what might be termed the growth of the intelligent community.  Some of these are summarised below.

New forms of accountability – real-time public 2-way communication between elected members, officials and citizens, including the media, has a profound effect on the conduct of local government business.  This is reinforced by the growth in so-called hyperlocal media, as media companies develop local coverage, often with local community input, to inform communities and involve community members in reacting and contributing to local debates. 

New means to share information and knowledge - new technologies allow local groups to share information, challenge official rationales for decisions and bring alternative and new knowledge on issues of concern to public notice through blogs, websites and interactive media.

New means to seek and express community opinion - local networks can be a powerful means of rapidly generating community views on emerging issues and bringing these views into active policy debates.

New forms of participation in decision-making – new technologies support emerging schemes for participatory decision-making as local communities are encouraged to propose and vote on alternative uses for community development funds.  In the UK at least these developments have been extended by increasingly common national competitions in which funds for innovations compete for votes through interactive websites.  

New forms of social capital – research referred to above has suggested that digital networks can produce a new kind of social capital.  By their very nature any community with significant numbers of people and organisations with social media networks will facilitate new links, exchanges, recognition and trust which can enhance community cohesion.  Participation is likely to be more socially inclusive, limited only by the opportunity to access social media.

New communities of interest – as more and more community members join local networks, new communities of interest are found, which can unlock community assets which were previously hidden and disconnected.

New forms of knowledge mobilisation and community learning – taken together these effects are likely to mobilise knowledge in new ways within communities and encourage informal community learning.  The work of community-based learning labs is one such development.  The growth of local groups aiming to encourage the use of social media and networking to support community group activity is another striking feature in many cities.

A deliberative space

Social media provide a deliberative space for the exploration of issues and sharing of knowledge in a way that does not depend on traditional face-to-face or formal exchanges.  It is now without risk that such space may be hijacked by particular interests, or may exclude some who despite the advantages identified in the research referred to above, do not have the means to access the space. As a deliberative space it compliments emerging concerns with place.  Leaders need to ensure that the space is used effectively and purposefully.  If this can be achieved the media serve as a key element in underpinning an informal learning community, and indeed in the development of the ‘intelligent community’, to participate with government, business and other organisations in taking communities forward.

References:

Anderson J et al (2010): The Future of Social relations, Pew Internet and American Life Research Center.

Antoci et al (2011): Bowling Alone but Tweting together – the evolution of human interaction in the social network era  (mimeo)

Ellison et al (2007): The benefits of Facebook ‘friends’ Social Capital and College Students use of online social network sites, Journal of Computer-mediated Communication 12(4)

Tumin Z & Fung A (2011): From Government 2.0 to Society 2.0: Pathways to Engagement, Collaboration and Transformation, Harvard Kennedy School