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Solidarity.com: is there a link between offline behavior and online donations?
1School of Psychology, St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom. Anja.Eller@st-andrews.ac.uk
Summary
Online solidarity website engagement is predicted by offline contact with, and attitudes toward, asylum seekers. Increased prior contact with asylum seekers surprisingly predicted fewer future online solidarity actions.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Philanthropy Studies
- Digital Sociology
Background:
- Solidarity websites enable donations with minimal effort, fostering wide participation and direct feedback.
- These platforms have grown in popularity and effectiveness since 1999.
- Understanding drivers of online altruism is crucial for maximizing impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate predictors of online solidarity engagement.
- To examine the relationship between offline factors (contact, attitudes, behavior tendencies) and online solidarity behavior.
- To explore long-term effects of offline experiences on online altruism.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal, quasi-experimental study design.
- Survey data collected from 57 university students at two time points, 1 year apart.
- Multiple regression analysis to identify predictive relationships.
Main Results:
- Website visits increased from 9% at T1 to 47% at T2.
- Quantity of offline contact with asylum seekers negatively predicted T2 website visits.
- General evaluation of asylum seekers marginally predicted (negatively) T2 website visits.
Conclusions:
- Offline contact quantity and general attitudes towards asylum seekers may influence online solidarity engagement.
- The negative prediction suggests complex interactions between offline and online altruistic behaviors.
- Further research is needed to clarify causal pathways and influencing factors.
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