Digitization in Cities and the Public Sector

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Paper Type

Complete

Paper Number

1019

Description

Increasing urbanization and population aging, as well as associated adverse outcomes such as social isolation or exclusion, imperil the well-being of local communities. Online neighborhood social networks (ONSNs) represent a novel type of online social network that exhibits promising effects on the social connectedness and social participation of inhabitants of urban neighborhoods. Following a design science research approach, we draw on empirical data from two case neighborhoods as well as extant literature and develop design principles for an ONSN for fostering social connectedness and participation. We instantiate this design knowledge into the MyNeighbors ONSN and conduct a long-term naturalistic evaluation. Based on platform usage, an online survey and qualitative interviews, we determine that ONSNs harbor the potential to improve the social connectedness and participation of neighbors. Our validated design knowledge contributes to research on ONSNs as well as technology-mediated social connectedness and participation.

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Dec 14th, 12:00 AM

Design and Evaluation of an Online Neighborhood Social Network for Fostering Social Connectedness and Participation: Lessons from Two Urban Neighborhoods

Increasing urbanization and population aging, as well as associated adverse outcomes such as social isolation or exclusion, imperil the well-being of local communities. Online neighborhood social networks (ONSNs) represent a novel type of online social network that exhibits promising effects on the social connectedness and social participation of inhabitants of urban neighborhoods. Following a design science research approach, we draw on empirical data from two case neighborhoods as well as extant literature and develop design principles for an ONSN for fostering social connectedness and participation. We instantiate this design knowledge into the MyNeighbors ONSN and conduct a long-term naturalistic evaluation. Based on platform usage, an online survey and qualitative interviews, we determine that ONSNs harbor the potential to improve the social connectedness and participation of neighbors. Our validated design knowledge contributes to research on ONSNs as well as technology-mediated social connectedness and participation.

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