Chapter 8 – The Dynamics of Groups Online

Chapter Summary

  • This chapter outlines how online groups form and regulate themselves.
  • It addresses topics such as how roles, norms, social capital, and group identity exist/are expressed in online groups.

Why Do Individuals Join Online Groups? 

  • It may be an attractive option for many individuals, especially in today’s digital and social media age.
  • Online groups may meet specific group member’s social needs of belonging and acceptance.
  • Motivations for why individuals are attracted to online groups may include:
    • The need to alleviate loneliness.
    • The attraction that anonymity online can afford group members.
    • The ability to control the types and extent of self-disclosures group members make to other members online.
    • The opportunity to communicate remotely, provided the necessary technology and usability skills are acquired.
    • The opportunity to interact with other individuals with ‘special’ interests.
    • The opportunity to present a ‘version’ of the self.

How Do People Behave in Online Groups?

  • The characteristics of groups, such as the group’s roles (formal and informal), and norms (the rules of the group) are evident in online groups, similar to their offline counterparts.
  • Cohesion (related to task and social factors) is present in online groups.
  • Collective identity (how people are similar to each other when the psychological connection between the individual self and the social group the individual is a member of is considered), and group identity (the common characteristics and goals, similar beliefs and standards that often exist between group members) are features of online groups.

Positive Consequences of Online Group Membership

  • Positive consequences of online group membership appear to exist, such as their ability to strengthen offline relationships that often already exist prior to individuals joining online group equivalents (i.e., work groups/sport groups).

Negative Consequences of Online Group Membership

  • Negative phenomena such as groupthink and social loafing can occur in online groups, similar to offline comparisons.
  • Other negative consequences of online group membership for individuals, such as cyberostracism may also be experienced by people using the online world.
  • Negative impacts of online group membership on mental well-being, due to an over-reliance on online group interactions, are highlighted in this chapter.
  • Negative effects of online group membership on self-esteem and group members’ social skills are also detailed.

Future Directions

  • Suggestions for future research directions in this area of group behaviour online are proposed in the final section of this chapter – for example, examinations of the impacts of online community size, composition, and lifecycles on group members’ behaviours (Guidi and Michienzi, 2021).

  • Chapter 8 – Useful Websites

    This link, from the Social Psychology Network, lists many resources on ‘The Self, Social Identity and Group Behaviour’.

    http://www.socialpsychology.org/social.htm#self

    This web link details some online communities for podcasters.

    http://theaudacitytopodcast.com/6-best-online-communities-for-podcasters-and-etiquette-tips-tap118/

  • Chapter 8 – Further Reading

    This paper by Janghee Cho and Rick Walsh investigated how potential new members of an online community create their own mental models of that online community from their first experience of the community, and how this process impacts their decision to remain in the community or not.

    Cho, J., and Walsh, R. (2021). How Potential New Members Approach an Online Community. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 30, 35–77. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10606-020-09390-0

    In this open-access paper by Hugo Hromic and Conor Hayes, they characterised and evaluated the dynamics of online communities. They specifically differentiated between functional and structural communities for microblogging.

    Hromic, H., anf Hayes, C. (2019). Characterising and evaluating dynamic online communities from live

    microblogging user interactions. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 9, Article 30. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13278-019-0576-8

  • Chapter 8 – Audio and Video links

    In this short 4-minute TED (2020) talk, entitled ‘Discovering safe community in online spaces’, Melody Yoon, describes her experiences of finding safe places in less than conventional spaces.

    https://www.ted.com/talks/melody_yoon_discovering_safe_community_in_online_spaces

    In this Ted Talk (2020) series, issues related to managing remote working teams are explored. Topics such as communication, burnout, and developing connections are specifically addressed.

    https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2020/4/9-ted-talks-managing-remote-teams

  • Chapter 8 – Essay questions

    1. Explain the terms group identity, social capital, social identity, and social loafing as they relate to online groups.
    2. Discuss the increasing use of the internet as a source of social support for individuals.  
    3. Outline some dangers of over-reliance on social networks (i.e., Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) for primary social support.
    4. Discuss the impact of individuals experimenting with their social identity online (both for the individual and the group as a whole).

Chapter 8 – Quiz

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