Young People Using Technology to Drive Social Change

Flickr image:  Some rights reserved by mikogo

A new survey reveals that when it comes to positive social change, young adults across the globe are leveraging social networking to get involved.

A survey of 11 countries shows that most adults in countries around the world (89%, on average) agree that technology can turn a cause into a movement faster than anything else can.

The Social Change Impact Report: Global Survey was commissioned by Walden University and conducted online with more than12000 participants in September 2011 in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Mexico, Spain and the United States.

According to the global survey, in many countries, men are more likely than women to use mobile devices to text messages related to a positive social change issue, specifically in Mexico (23% vs. 16% of women), the United States (7% vs. 4%), France (7% vs. 1%), Japan (5% vs. 2%) and Germany (4% vs. 1%).

An average of 29% of young adults have used social networking sites in the past six months to engage in social change.

"Social technology has opened the door to global change, making information pass from person to person, regardless of location, at lightning speed. It's never been easier to connect with others and take action. Individuals now have remarkable power," said Andy Smith, author of The Dragonfly Effect.

"But it's those who harness digital technology and social media for pro-social ends who will create the greatest positive social change in the future."

Additionally, social networking is more common than using blogs or texting to engage in social change among young adults in nearly all of the countries.

Of the young adults who have used social networking in the past six months to engage in social change, the highest reported use is in Mexico (40%), India (39%) and Great Britain (37%). In China (50%) and Japan (12%), blogging is the top digital way of engaging in social change among young adults.

Texting to engage in social change is particularly common in India (38% of 18–25-year-olds).

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