survey SAYS.....

I've been reading some posts/articles about the USC/Annenberg Digital Futures project today and although it's nothing that i think i didn't already know, i think it's the first thing i've read that has made me think 'see, i *knew* it!'.

In a nutshell, the study basically says that online communities and online communication are the bomb and anyone who's anyone knows it. (My spin, of course).

You really should take some time to read some highlights from the study but in case you don't get a chance, here are some of the big things (in my mind):

* "Participation in online communities leads to social activism. Almost two thirds of online community members who participate in social causes through the Internet (64.9 percent)say they are involved in causes that were new to them when they began participating on the Internet.And more than 40 percent (43.7 percent) of online community members participate more in social activism since they started participating in online communities.

~*~I think we've seen this play out time and again in Second Life. Whether it's the ACS "Relay for Life" or a Habitat for Humanity benefit, Alzheimer's Association benefit, or the Breast Cancer Awareness Benefit that I held in Second Life, people are socially aware, and active in these causes. People are willing to donate their time, talent, and funds in ways I've never witnessed before. I had to turn people away from performing at my benefit because there simply wasn't enough time. People involved in online communities *care*.~*~

* Internet users are finding growing numbers of online friends, as well as friends they first met online and then met in person. Internet users report having met an average of 4.65 friends online whom they have never met in person. Internet users report an average of 1.6 friends met in person whom they originally met online -- more than double the number when the Digital Future Project began in 2000.

~*~I cannot tell you how many friends I have that I met intially in an online community of some sort. My best friends were met in this way.~*~

* Responding to a question last asked in 2002, 42.8 percent of Internet users agree that going online has increased the number of people they regularly stay in contact with -- marginally less than the 46.6 percent who voiced the same response four years ago.

~*~I also find this to be the case. I'm not sure why, exactly and if you have any input on that let me know, but it's true. Maybe it's because being online and meeting people and learning the value of belonging to a community or a group affects all of our personal interactions and makes us just a bit more aware of how important communication truly is.~*~

* For the first time the percentage of women going online was higher than the number of men.

~*~It's about damn time - I'm sure all the men are thrilled. I guess this increases the chances that any females you meet online are actually women!.~*~

There are a bunch of other cool things, but these were important to me.


I had been thinking about this actually, before I read this study because of some readings I had to do for my art class this semester. The readings had to do with technology and our personal identities and they talked about how iPods, laptops, etc are forcing people into their own 'little worlds' and are keeping them from interacting with others and in essence 'shutting themselves off' from their surroundings. In thinking about this, although of course technology is an ever-evolving thing, and forces us to perhaps see things with different perspectives on a daily basis (at least I hope it does), this doesn't necessarily mean that we're turning into technozombies who don't care about anything outside our 'happy place'.

Maybe all we needed all along was to have some 'time' with our iPod or our laptop, alone, with only our thoughts to be able to see more clearly what's going on around us and become more active participants in what some of us call "the real world".