Disentangling social support mobilization via online neighborhood networks

Abstract

This paper proposes and tests a theoretical model to investigate the mechanism underpinning local social support exchange via online neighborhood networks (ONNs). We drew on community psychology, social support, and social media literature and used a survey conducted in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium among 561 ONN users (n females = 409; 72.9%) between 18 and 82 years old (M age = 43.73; SD age = 15.37). We found that engaging in online neighboring behaviors was associated to both online and offline neighborhood sense of community. Subsequently, these provide access to perceived local social support and the intention to mobilize local social support online. The latter was predominantly explained via the path along online sense of community. ONNs facilitate local bridging behavior, connecting otherwise distinct local networks and ties. At the same time, online neighboring behaviors provide the normative context that supports the exchange process.

Tackling COVID-19 from below: civic participation among online neighbourhood network users during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…A specific online space where civic participation can emerge on a local level is through online neighbourhood networks (ONNs), in which neighbourhood residents appropriate social media platforms to exchange and discuss local information, news and opinions (Konsti-Laakso, 2017; De Meulenaere et al , 2020b), send and answer support requests (López and Farzan, 2015; Silver and Matthews, 2017) and mobilize others in the context of local protest (Gregory, 2015). As such, they provide community members with novel means to connect to their local community, develop local social relations and increase their sense of belonging (De Meulenaere et al , 2020a). Moreover, positive associations between similar local social media use and civic participation have been demonstrated in prior studies (Kavanaugh et al , 2005; Kavanaugh and Patterson, 2001; Kim, 2015; Kwon et al , 2020; Nah and Yamamoto, 2017).…”

“…In this context, we recently saw the development of online neighbourhood networks (ONNs). Emerging on social media platforms, ONNs are local online environments, where neighbourhood residents can engage in conversations with each other, share information pertaining the neighbourhood, town or city and ask for neighbourly help, which effectively contribute to stronger neighbourhood attachment (De Meulenaere et al , 2020a). Although the capacity of such local social media use in the context of collective action has been widely speculated on (Bouko and Calabrese, 2017; Gregory, 2015; De Meulenaere et al , 2020b), there is currently little empirical research that has considered the role of online local integration in the context of civic participation.…”

The development and psychometric testing of the expressive and instrumental Online Neighborhood Network Uses Scale (ONNUS)

“…A fairly recent phenomenon is the appropriation of social media platforms such as Facebook in neighborhood contexts by residents, emerging as self-organized online neighborhood networks (ONNs). These ONNs allow neighborhood residents to organize themselves around particular interests (Bouko & Calabrese, 2017;Gregory, 2015), facilitate the exchange of goods (Rufas & Hine, 2018), to circulate neighborhood related information and news Gulyas et al, 2019;Turner, 2015) or neighborly support López & Farzan, 2015;Silver & Matthews, 2017), and to do so beyond the confines of offline personal local networks, allowing them to bridge to neighborhood residents otherwise not known to them (De Meulenaere et al, 2021;. These studies explored the variety in ONN uses, the subjective experiences of its users, and suggest that these ONNs foster a sense of community and stimulate neighborhood attachment, thereby allowing to develop local social relations and build social capital.…”

Help thy neighbor. Neighborhood relations, subjective well-being, and trust during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…On the one hand, people who already have had a larger neighborhood network prior to the pandemic are likely more strongly involved in neighborhood-based coping strategies with the consequences of the pandemic, such as going shopping for their at-risk neighbors. In this regard, elderly people were not only especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to contain it [44,45], but they are usually also more attached to their neighborhood, have larger neighborhood networks, and they mobilize more support from neighbors [24,[46][47][48]. On the other hand, although people with less resources are reported to benefit most from neighborhood networks [46], people with more advantageous endowments (e.g., higher educational qualifications) usually have larger networks and mobilize more support through these networks [49,50].…”

“…Second, since locally organized instrumental and also emotional support were especially important during the pandemic and social confinement [25,36,46,51,52], we expect that the changes in one's neighborhood network during that period are largely independent from the size and amount of interaction prior to the pandemic in other social networks, such as friends, colleagues, or online networks. Thus, while those with a larger neighborhood network are expected to have improved their relation with neighbors in that time, a larger network of friends and colleagues should have played only a minor role.…”