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How Perceived Costs and Benefits of Initial Social Media Participation Affect Subsequent Community-Based Participation

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Abstract

Focusing on the low-cost nature of social media participation, previous studies have described social media as providing opportunities for nonprofit organizations to gain support for their campaigns, such as asking to click a button. However, the question remains whether and how social media participation subsequently encourages community-based (offline) participation. Extending previous studies’ focus on the actual cost of social media participation, we examine how perceived costs and benefits of social media participation motivate individuals to participate in community-based participation. Our analysis of two-way between-subjects ANCOVA demonstrated that the perceived benefits of initial social media participation, rather than its actual or perceived costs, drive individuals to identify with the issue and engage in subsequent community-based participation. This finding suggests that the meaning of social media participation does not lie in whether it allows for low-cost actions, but in how individuals perceive and appreciate the benefits from their actions and identify with the issue.

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Notes

  1. Previous research on clicktivism tends to consider offline participation to be deeper engagement than social media participation. However, offline participation activities may vary, ranging from signing petition to sit-in protests. Some activities such as mass demonstrations take place in the offline environment, but may initiate in networking among individuals in the social media environment. Acknowledging the broad range and continuum of offline participation activities and preventing the binary distinction between offline and online participation, we use “community-based participation,” instead of the broader term, “offline participation” to refer to the offline activity, specifically in this study, the activity of folding flyers into envelopes, which follows the initial social media participation.

  2. When individuals participate in a social media activity, which we refer to as “initial” social media participation in this paper, their participation may influence their participation in the future, which we refer to as “subsequent” participation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Yeon Kyoung Joo, and Esther Liu for their helpful comments. This work has been supported by the 2018 Young Scholar Grant from Korean Association for Broadcasting and Telecommunication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Media and Communication, Kwangwoon University, 20 Kwangwoon-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 01897, Republic of Korea

    Jennifer Ihm

  2. Department of Digital Image, Sangmyung University, 20 Hongjimun 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03016, Republic of Korea

    Sangeun Lee

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  1. Jennifer Ihm
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  2. Sangeun Lee
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Correspondence to Sangeun Lee.

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Social Media Message


figure a

90% of Koreans live in cities. Although we live in a city full of concrete buildings and cars, small parks in the city act as our resting places.

Urban parks have been constructed under the city management plan for the protection of urban landscape, improvement in citizen’s health and emotional life, and mitigation of urban environmental pollution. In order to make urban parks legally mandatory, Korea has regulated to protect more than 6 km2 of urban parks per resident in urban areas through “Article 4 of the Enforcement Rule on Urban Parks and Green Belt”.

However, “Sunset Regulation of Planned Urban Facilities” which will begin in June 2020, puts the city at risk of losing valuable urban parks. The city management plan designates some privately owned sites as urban parks, but if the municipality does not purchase them, the designated effect will be canceled in June 2020. Currently, 186 km2, half of the total area of the urban park (406.5 km2) is actively used as hiking trails or parks, but most of them are privately owned. If the “Sunset Regulation of Planned Urban Facilities” is implemented, the legal effect of the urban park site will be lifted and the park area will be drastically reduced. Combined with the urban parks built on the national public land, 4421 parks in 17 metropolitan cities including Seoul, will disappear.

Why did the government or local governments neglect the urban park project for the benefit of its citizens?

Because of financial problems. In Seoul, it is estimated that KRW 11.7 trillion will be required to purchase 40 km2 of 71 private lands subject to the Sunset Regulation of Planned Urban Facilities.

But it’s not too late. If you proactively take measures from now on, you can protect the urban park. 26% of long-running non-executive urban parks by region can be excluded from sunset as a public land without any infringement of private property rights. In addition, if the urban park is privately owned, the government can support the national expenses, and if it is difficult to purchase, the policy can be supplemented by paying rent to the landowners.

We have 2 years left. We need your help in enacting legislation as countermeasures against “Sunset Regulation of Planned Urban Facilities”. Please protect the lungs of the city by your power!

Link to the map with the locations of urban parks at risk: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1NLNZyUAte9qAZjPULW2i1HCeyko7yZTb&ll=35.87224125991744%2C128.53525590000004&z=5.

figure b

Many people do not know about the “Sunset Regulation of Planned Urban Facilities” yet.

Korean Federation for Environmental Movement is having an online petition campaign to inform the public that urban parks may disappear in the year of 2020 and prepare the legal protections for urban parks.

Use your KakaoTalk to share the online petition link (http://www.savingparks.com) with the above message to 1 person (low-actual cost condition)/10 people (high-actual cost condition), and upload captured screenshots.

Appendix 2: Items of Variables

Perceived costs of social media participation (α = .72)

  • My acquaintances and friends will participate in this action when I share this campaign with them online (reverse coded).

  • My acquaintance and friends will have negative reactions when I share this campaign with them online.

  • I wasted significant time on this participation activity.

  • I put much energy into this participation activity.

  • I felt burdened by participating in this activity.

Perceived benefits of social media participation (α = .85)

  • This participation activity has an impact on whether the bill to protect urban parks will gain traction in the legislature.

  • This participation activity is not helpful in introducing the bill to protect urban parks (reverse coded).

  • This participation activity is helpful in shaping public opinion in favor of the bill to protect urban parks.

  • This participation activity is helpful in influencing government and policy makers.

  • This participation activity expresses the value of environmental protection.

  • This participation activity will impact environmental protection.

  • This participation activity gives me satisfaction.

Issue identification (pre: α = .87; post: α = .84)

  • Environmental protection reflects an important part of who I am.

  • Environmental protection is closely connected to me.

  • I enjoy participating in the activities that support environmental protection.

  • I am reluctant to get involved in issues related to environmental protection (reverse coded).

  • It annoys me to talk about environmental protection (reverse coded).

  • I feel sad if I cannot participate in the activities for environmental protection.

  • I think we should protect environments.

  • I have not considered participating in the activities for environmental protection (reverse coded).

  • Participating in activities to support environmental protection means something more than mere participation to me.

Community-based participation (N/A)

  • Are you willing to participate in the offline volunteering activity to fold the flyers for promoting campaign to sign an online petition? (yes/no)

  • If yes, please specify the number of flyers you can fold.

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Ihm, J., Lee, S. How Perceived Costs and Benefits of Initial Social Media Participation Affect Subsequent Community-Based Participation. Voluntas 32, 1320–1331 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-020-00200-1

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