A new study has found that people who follow social media carefully are more likely to care about others, according to thenextweb.com.
Research done on 24,000 consumers living in the 16 biggest countries in the world has discovered that those who are on the cutting edge of the latest social media developments and who are closely connected to others through this technology are more ‘prosocial’ than average, meaning they are more likely to engage in volunteer work, offer their seats in crowded places, lend possessions out and give directions to others.
A Netherlands-based independent non-profit organisation called ‘Let’s Heal’ compiled the research as part of their goal to assist brands in becoming more prosocial - brands that assist others by doing good.
“It’s no secret that I’m especially interested in ‘Meaningful Prosocial Brands’ in particular, because rather than just helping others, they facilitate their consumers to help others and in doing this, they can mobilize a large force for good,” stated Let’s Heal founder Mark Woerde.
“‘Meaningful Prosocial Brands’ go beyond social responsibility. These brands use their marketing power and engage target groups to the max and facilitate them to help other people by tackling small or big societal issues.”
Woerde illustrated his point by citing the nappy company Pampers as an example of a prosocial brand, saying it has committed to ending the threat of tetanus by the year 2013. For every Pampers pack that is bought, one child is vaccinated against tetanus.
The study found that 72% of keen social media adherents prefer to purchase prosocial brands, compared to 61% of people who are less involved in social media networking. Similarly, 81% of keen social media adherents prefer to work for prosocial brands compared to 61% of those who are less involved.
Whether this is because socially orientated people who feel burdened by the concerns of others are likely to want to connect through social media anyway, or because social media actually does promote positive and healing interaction with others remains to be decided.
You can make up your own mind after reading the full study at LetsHeal.org.