Study Finds Facebook ‘Activists’ Do Little for Causes

Research into the membership and activities of the “Save Darfur Cause” on Facebook found that only a sliver of the more than 1 million people who joined the group donated or spread the word about the issue, social-sciences magazine Pacific Standard writes.

The study, published last month in the journal Sociological Science, claims to be the first “containing precise longitudinal data on the growth and donation activity of a massive online social movement.” It found that 0.24 percent of those who signed on to Save Darfur Cause contributed money—far lower results than for other fundraising media, such as workplace drives and direct mail—and 72 percent never recruited another member.

Save Darfur Cause raised about $91,000 in two and a half years, most of it through the efforts of a small core of “hyperactivists,” according to the report. University of California-San Diego sociologist Kevin Lewis, one of the researchers, said others who joined the group probably were “generally empathetic” to the cause but cared more about the “reputational benefits” of publicly associating themselves with it.

Read a Chronicle of Philanthropy article on Causes.com’s recent transition from Facebook application to charitable social network.