Lurking in Online Communities
From Information Systems at Pitt Business
Over 80% of people who use the Internet have used an online community. Yet, only 10% of the people who have used an online community have actually posted content. Why are so many people not contributing? Existing explanations suggest these users are self-interested, selfish, or uncaring individuals who take want they want and don’t contribute content (lurkers). However, existing arguments overlook one key aspect of contributing to a community – contributing is an act of public communication.
Individuals typically experience feelings of apprehension when communicating in a public setting. Contributing content in an online community is much like speaking in front of a crowd. To contribute a member must communicate a message to the community. This communication is made to a group of unknown size and identity. Additional characteristics of communicating in online communities that influence feelings of apprehension are related to: the individual (desire for privacy), the community (community hostility), and the individual-community relationship (trust in the community, understanding community norms, and perceived relative expertise). As a result of these factors, individuals choose to remain silent, rather than say anything in the community, to avoid the feelings of apprehension. Administrators looking to reduce lurking and increase contributions should look to manage the factors that influence members’ feelings of communication apprehension.
To read more, check out the paper on Lurking in Online Communities: A Communication Apprehension Perspective by Patrick Bateman and Jacqueline Pike.
This paper was originally presented at the 2007 Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. To see what was presented, check out the powerpoint slides from the presentation.
[edit] Abstract
Understanding what motivates individuals to share has been a primary focus in the online community literature. Lurking, the behavior of those individuals who visit online communities, but infrequently, if ever, contribute content, is an issue closely related to sharing. However, it has received little direct attention, even though lurkers account for approximately 90% of all individuals who utilize online communities. These users are typically characterized as free-riders who take advantage of community resources while selfishly neglecting their contribution responsibility. Theoretical explanations do not stray far from this perspective, attributing lurking to choices made by self-interested individuals regarding the sharing of resources and made worse by a common goods setting.
In this paper, we challenge this resource based view of online behavior, suggesting instead that these choices are as much about communication in a public setting as about resource provision. A communication apprehension perspective is utilized to examine the communicative nature of online communities and the effect aspects of these have on lurking. This perspective states that when faced with the prospect of communicating to a large group of people, individuals experience feelings of apprehension. We propose that characteristics of communicating in online communities tied to the individual (desire for privacy), the community (community hostility), and the individual-community relationship (trust in the community, understanding community norms, and perceived relative expertise) influence communication apprehension, which impacts an individual’s decision to lurk.
[edit] Keywords
Lurking, Online Community, Communication Apprehension, Sharing, Participation
