Community gifting groups on Facebook

TL;DR

This study analyzes Facebook's buy nothing groups, revealing their growth, community structure, and social dynamics, highlighting their role in local gift-giving, waste reduction, and community connection.

Contribution

It provides a descriptive analysis of buy nothing Facebook groups, uncovering their unique interaction patterns and community characteristics compared to other local groups.

Findings

BN groups are more popular in dense, urban US counties with higher education levels.

Interaction graphs in BN groups show larger strongly connected components, indicating reciprocity norms.

BN groups have lower Facebook friendship densities, connecting less already-connected individuals.

Abstract

We use de-identified data from Facebook Groups to study and provide a descriptive analysis of local gift-giving communities, in particular buy nothing (BN) groups. These communities allow people to give items they no longer need, reduce waste, and connect to local community. Millions of people have joined BN groups on Facebook, with an increasing pace through the COVID-19 pandemic. BN groups are more popular in dense and urban US counties with higher educational attainment. Compared to other local groups, BN groups have lower Facebook friendship densities, suggesting they bring together people who are not already connected. The interaction graphs in BN groups form larger strongly connected components, indicative of norms of generalized reciprocity. The interaction patterns in BN groups are similar to other local online gift-giving groups, with names containing terms such as `free stuff" and `pay it forward". This points to an interaction signature for local online gift-giving communities.