Friend is a relative term, since in social networks like Facebook selfless contacts to be called. Some people collect thousands of such friends, Lady Gaga has about seven million, and the mass of network users ensures constant supply. Because when users get new contacts suggested constantly, just because the turn have contact with someone with whom you yourself - is in contact - at least ostensibly or formal.Friendship shines in the world of Facebook to be less of a qualitative than a quantitative concept. Pessimists fear that this will sneak a lack of culture, in which the terms of closeness and friendship are diluted to replace the virtual networks are increasingly the real social networking.
Virtual friends but could not replace real human contact - so warn repeatedly in particular those in the networks are not even there. Because the others know better: It's not about one instead, but a both / and, too often even by a now-more-more. With virtual networking, the communication is increasing enormously.
In addition, many of the new joy of old friends in social networks: people resume their lost contacts, such as out of sight lost school friends, they find themselves together in groups of like-minded - and, increasingly, the very real consequences in everyday life. What power-optimists have long preached, is slowly measurable with the tools of demography: social communication and interaction, but also social responsibility are generally on the rise, not in retreat.
Clearly than ever before now that shows a recent study by the renowned U.S. Institute of Social Research PEW. Moreover, they also documented that the trend is towards greater social communication closely related to the success of the Internet. The study "The social side of the internet" with their conclusion already in the subtitle: "Technology use has become deeply embedded in group life and is affecting the way civic and social groups behave and the way they impact their communities." To German: The use of communication technologies has become deeply integrated into the social life of groups and gaining influence on how people and groups interact and influence their environment.
Web users are steep social support of this thesis, which runs counter to the expectations of media skeptics diametrically PEW leads to many hard numbers: 75 percent of all Americans take part in organized charitable activities - from sports clubs to volunteering. This is also a consequence of the above-average commitment internet active citizens: 80 percent of web users are active in this respect, but only 56 percent of web teetotaler.
Well over 50 percent of the socially committed tell the Web make it easier for them to reach the public (62 percent) to close contact with other groups and to hold (60 percent), to gain influence on society as a whole (59 percent) to organize activities (59 percent) to remain on their topics and groups to date (53 percent), to solicit funds (52 percent), to attract new members (51 percent).
The web also extends the social reach 46 percent of respondents, the Web enables them to more frequent participation in social activities than they would be without the Internet. So it is particularly the communicative potential of the web that shows this effect. Aggressive and destructive potential is seen in a long take Indeed, even critics of all the true power as a truism when it comes to negative effects from their perspective, subversive, aggressive, or revolutionary potential is the communicative networks.
On the role of the network as a means of organization and mobilization of masses has been discussed for some time - not just since the cyber-jihad "of Islamists recruiting via the Web or the protests against the economic summit in Heiligendamm, or Toronto. Even mainstream media are featured in the year 2004, the question of whether the Orange Revolution in Ukraine without SMS and e-mail would have been even conceivable.
The revolution has just taken place in Tunisia, it is considered a foregone conclusion that resistance could quickly grow into a mass movement, as digital forms of communication played a role. And now they have the displeasure of the rulers and the courage to get involved in other countries.
Oh yes, and the protest against Stuttgart 21 is regarded as digital-communicatively connected movement. Not only in the PEW numbers shows that this powerful networking potential acts in all directions. The federal government is aware of it. Only in October 2010, they pushed the first "National Engagement Strategy for the Federal Republic Germany".
Background of this strategy are probably also the data collected since 1999 volunteer surveys for Germany. These studies compared the years a steady trend towards more involvement in clubs, organizations, groups and public bodies (ie, in the infrastructure of civil society). " The impressive rate of social interaction in 2009: 71 percent.
In 1999 the figure was 66 percent. Where comparable data were collected, they fit significantly to those in the current PEW study. The last, the end of 2010 introduced German report stated: "Does 2004 only 44 percent of the Internet for their dedicated work, there were 2009 to 59 percent.
All age groups were 2009, the media more for her commitment as a 2004, and that was also observed in all exposure areas "in 2009 in Germany, socially engaged people use the Internet judged for their respective involvement in the following items as very important or important. And because all of the above does not look down, found a sudden and words like "empowerment" in the vocabulary of politicians.
The engagement platforms, it is also about transparency and participation for the citizens' e-government "in the Otto- Schily's understanding of a brushed on effectiveness government administration has had its day before it started. Last discussed the expert committees of the National Engagement Strategy for daring questions such as participation platforms for "participatory budgeting" by municipalities, such as Hamburg, in 2009, at least communicative ever rehearsed.
Consistent with thought through at the end of such involvement process via the Web a much more mature and influential citizens.
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