On solidarity and volunteering during the COVID-19 crisis in Denmark: The impact of social networks and social media groups on the distribution of support

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Abstract

This paper unfolds how informal civil society quickly mobilised citizen-to-citizen support when government and non-government organisations locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper focuses on two elements of the mobilisation: the role of social networks and social media groups. It reveals that the vast majority of this support was distributed through existing social networks and, therefore, not available to those lacking social connections. However, we also find that social media groups played an important role in the mobilisation, that support organised on social media does not diverge significantly in commitment or kind from support organised in other settings. The paper concludes by discussing the potential of social media to mitigate the impact of social networks on the distribution of support, pointing to some of the potential barriers to social media groups’ successful facilitation of support to those without a social network.
Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Societies
Volume23
Issue numbersup 1
Pages (from-to)122-140
ISSN1461-6696
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Faculty of Social Sciences
  • COVID-19
  • volunteering
  • welfare
  • social media
  • solidarity

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