The Digital Future Project found that membership in online communities has more than doubled in only three years.
- 54% of online community members log into their community at least once a day
- 71% of members said their community is very important or extremely important to them
- 56% of members reported meeting their online counterparts in person
The study found that participation in online community membership has particularly dramatic effects on participation in social causes. Three-quarters of online community members said they use the Internet to participate in communities related to social causes, with 40% saying that they use the Internet at least monthly to participate in such communities.
Eighty-seven percent of online community members are participating in social causes that are new to them since their involvement in online communities began.
And, a large and growing percentage of members â€" now 55% â€" say they feel as strongly about their online communities as they do about their real-world communities.
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