Anxiety about the effects of social media on young people has risen to such an extreme that giving children smartphones is sometimes equated to handing them a gram of cocaine. The reality is much less alarming.
A close look at social media use shows that most young texters and Instagrammers are fine. Heavy use can lead to problems, but many early studies and news headlines have overstated dangers and omitted context.
Researchers are now examining these diverging viewpoints, looking for nuance and developing better methods for measuring whether social media and related technologies have any meaningful impact on mental health.
In late 2005, the dotOrganize team embarked on an unprecedented effort to map the current state of online technology in the social change sector. Over nine months, dotOrganize gathered survey and interview input from more than 400 social change groups, technology providers, and nonprofit technology capacity builders. Surveys and interviews were designed to identify what organizers need to support their goals, what tools are currently available, what does and does not work, and what's needed to strengthen the long-term capacity of the sector.
Great effort was made to obtain input from organizations with smaller budgets: 75% of organizations surveyed operate on annual budgets of $1 million or less; 29% on budgets under $100,000.
The full report provides a detailed view of the sector's present situation, gives voice to the organizers who are struggling with these issues, and offers recommendations for filling current gaps in strategy, software development, and tool adoption paths.