Volunteering through social media in Thailand

Abstract

This study set out to explore the potential of social media for solving social problems by drawing on the experiences of volunteer organizations that use popular social media sites. A participatory communication framework was used, with semi-structured interviews with volunteering organization administrators, and online questionnaires of volunteer organization members as method. The study found that respondent demographics and social media usage affected the degree of online participation on the volunteering organizations’ social media sites. Most respondents participated at a low level, Nevertheless, their activities brought direct and indirect benefits to the organizations and themselves. Most respondents thought that their online volunteering was efficacious at least in the short-term. Social media volunteering also prompted online volunteers to contribute to further volunteering both online and offline, and met some requirements of participatory communication. Its development may provide even further opportunities to expand such participation in interactive and collaborative ways.