A new national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. (US) 75% of all American adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization and internet users are more likely than others to be active: 80% of internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-internet users. And social media users are even more likely to be active: 82% of social network users and 85% of Twitter users are group participants.
Groups and their members are using all kinds of digital tools to bind themselves together and some of the most innovative involve social networking sites like Facebook (used by 62% of the internet users in our survey), Twitter (used by 12% of internet users), blogs, and texting (used by 74% of the cell phone owners in our survey) : 48% of those who are active in groups say that those groups have a page on a social networking site like Facebook
42% of those who are active in groups say those groups use text messaging
30% of those who are active in groups say those groups have their own blog
16% of those who are active in groups say the groups communicate with members through Twitter
Some 65% of those who are social network site users say they read updates and messages on these sites about the groups in which they are active and 30% say they have posted news about their groups on their SNS page. The numbers are similar when it comes to Twitter users: 63% of the Twitter users who are active in groups say they read updates and posts on Twitter about their groups, and 21% say they post news on Twitter about their groups. Some 45% of the texters who are active in groups say they send and receive texts with other group members and leaders.
