Hypothesis One—Quantitative Data Results—Survey Findings

H1—Group members’ online social networking site activity will take the place of or decrease group members’ offline social capital and engagement within the same organization.

Figure 5 represents the hours per week that the 238 survey respondents report for general usage of Facebook and Twitter. Percentages represent response counts from population surveyed.

       Figure  5  

As Figure 5 indicates, non-Twitter usage among the respondents equals 49 percent, nearly half of all surveyed, compared to six percent of respondents who do not use Facebook. Those using Twitter and Facebook “fewer than five hours a week”

account for 55 percent of the total combined. One-third of the respondents use Facebook between “five to ten hours per week.” As the results indicate, Twitter usage among the

0%  

Members' General Facebook & Twitter Usage Hours Per Week

Facebook   Twitter  

Figure 6 represents the online membership of the 238 total respondents on the Facebook page of the organization to which they also belong as a member offline.

               Figure  6    

As Figure 6 reveals, the majority of survey respondents (83 percent) indicate that they are online members of the Facebook group of their organization. This represents an overwhelming overlap in both online and offline membership within the same

organization.

83%  

17%  

0%  

Members Who Belong to the Facebook Group of Organization

Yes   No   Skipped  

Figure 7 shows the percentage of survey respondents who report being followers of the online Twitter accounts of the groups they belong to.

           Figure  7        

The majority (60 percent) of respondents do not follow the groups they belong to offline on Twitter (See Figure 7). Seven percent of members report that their

organizations do not have a Twitter account, which comprises both those that are not aware of the Twitter account as well as those instances where none exists. As Figure 7 demonstrates, the groups’ ability to retain Twitter followers comes in at 33 percent of the

33%  

60%  

7%  

Members Who Follow Their Group on Twitter

Yes  

No  

Organization  is  not  on   Twitter  

Figure 8 details the 238 total respondents’ hourly visits per week on the Facebook page of the organization they belong to as members, as well as the Twitter account of the organization to which they belong. Percentages represent response counts from

population surveyed.

     Figure  8      

As Figure 8 indicates, the Facebook pages of groups in the survey receive no visits each week by the majority of members (46 percent). As well, the Twitter accounts of groups receive no followers per week by 76 percent of the members surveyed. The results show that at most, members spend “one to two hours per week” on the social media accounts of their groups by a combined total of 68 percent for both Facebook and

0%  

10%  

20%  

30%  

40%  

50%  

60%  

70%  

80%  

0  hrs.   1-­‐2  hrs.   3-­‐4  hrs.   5-­‐6  hrs.   7-­‐8  hrs.   8  hrs.  

Members' Use of Group's Facebook Page & Group Twitter

Facebook   Twitter  

  Table 4 shows the level to which the 238 respondents agree with the idea that they receive most of their news regarding their organization via its Facebook page and Twitter account.

Table 4

Where Group Members Receive Their News

“I receive most of my news regarding this organization via its Facebook page.”

“I receive most of my news regarding this organization via its Twitter account.”

  As seen in Table 4, 24 percent of survey respondents “strongly agree” or “agree”

that they receive most of their news regarding the organization via its Facebook page.

Table 4 also reveals that six percent of survey respondents “strongly agree” or “agree”

that they receive most of their news regarding the organization via its Twitter account.

Clearly, group members spend little time on group social media sites obtaining news and information about their group.

Figure 9 represents the total number of the 238 survey respondents’ hours of in–

person participation per week within the organizations of which they are members.

           Figure  9  

Sixty percent of group members surveyed participate in-person (offline) in their groups, “fewer than five hours per week” (See Figure 9). Twenty-four percent of survey respondents’ self-report participation in-person (offline) from “five to 10 hours per week.”

6%  

60%  

24%  

4%   3%  1%   2%  

Hours a Week Members Participate in Their Organization In-Person (Offline)

0  Hours   Less  than  5  hrs.  

5-­‐10  Hours   11-­‐15  Hours   16-­‐20  Hours   21-­‐25  Hours   More  than  25  hrs.  

Figure 10 represents the 238 survey respondents’ agreement with the idea that they enjoy participating offline in the activities of their organizations.

       Figure  10      

As Figure 10 demonstrates, 84 percent of respondents “strongly agree” or “agree”

with the idea that they enjoy participating in-person (offline) in the activities of their organization. Notably, the members of the groups in this survey derive much satisfaction from participating in the groups that they belong to.

53%  

31%  

10%  

3%   3%  

Enjoyment of Offline Group Activities

Strongly  Agree   Agree  

Neutral   Disagree  

Strongly  Disagree  

Table 5 is a breakdown of high frequency Facebook users (those that use Facebook 5-10 hours or 11-15 hours per week for general usage) and the number of hours per week that they visit the Facebook page of their group.

Table 5

High  Frequency  Facebook  Users  and  Number  of  Hours  Per  Week   That  They  Visit  Their  Group’s  Page  

As Table 5 indicates, frequent users of Facebook do not visit their group’s Facebook page often. Forty-six percent of members using Facebook “five to 10 hours per week” never visit their group’s Facebook page while online. Those respondents who use Facebook “11-15 hours per week” also spend limited time on their group’s page, with only 53 percent of them visiting their group’s page “one to two hours per week.”