It didn’t take me long to fail in my commitment to myself to post once a week, but there you go… but I have been busy… you know saving lives and stuff. Just to be clear it is very much an exaggeration to say I heroically saved a life, although I did rescue a baby blackbird from the claws of certain death – AKA my neighbour’s cat. So today I decided to write ‘There is someone for everyone’
I will tell the story first because it does lead somewhere. The bird later Christened ‘Hope’ by my daughter was sat under the patio table shaking – less than 2 meters away from the cat and as I tried to pick Hope up to put her in the bush away from harm, she rolled over flapped and wobbled and looked in a bad way. I put her up on the garage roof but she slid down into the gutter and after a few minutes jumped down onto the drive as the cat prowled ever closer. I put her in a box and kept her wrapped in tissue and on the advice of my colleague fed her ground mealworms (my daughter has a hamster so we have such things at home) mixed with water. Not really knowing what else to do I posted on my local Facebook group asking if anyone could help.
A wonderful local lady, who I have seen posting about rescuing and caring for the local wildlife, responded and said she could help and give antibiotics if the cat had got to her, which it looked like it had, and could care for her.
And that’s the reason for this post’s title ‘There is someone for everyone’. So this is quite common to hear and usually regarding relationships or dating, but it made me realise there really is someone looking out for everyone and this is exactly how a community is supposed to work. At Christmas, I donated to a women’s refuge with items for young babies via a local woman on Facebook. Recently the war in Ukraine, lots of community groups are gathering donations on facebook local groups. And of course during the pandemic lots of support groups for the isolated, sick, and needy.
You could be dismissive and prioritise these causes claiming one is more important than the other, and indeed some are far more serious and the plight far more desperate, immediate and life-threatening, but that’s just the point… There is someone in the community who will spring into action and organise a one-off fundraiser for displaced victims of war, another who will care and organise litter picks to keep the community looking nice. And other people who use their time and patience to care for local wildlife. Like the local hero who is caring for Hope. My daughter named the blackbird fledgling Hope because she hopes that she will return to her mother, who has been searching and waiting for her in the garden.
Everyone bashes Facebook these days, but it is great for local communities, connecting people to help and really there is someone for everyone.
Apparently, 1.8 billion people use Facebook Groups every month. A recent Search Engine Journal article references a report from NYU’s The Governance Lab which examines how Facebook Groups allow people to form meaningful communities they often wouldn’t have the opportunity to offline. has some pretty interesting stats:
- More than 1.8 billion people use Facebook Groups every month.
- There’s over 70 million admins and moderators running active Facebook groups.
- More than half of all users are in five or more groups.
- Groups with ties to local communities and cities generate the greatest sense of belonging.
- Over 50% of respondents who named an online group as their most important had belonged to that group for more than a year.
- Groups with ties to local communities and cities generate the greatest sense of belonging.
- Over 50% of respondents who named an online group as their most important had belonged to that group for more than a year.
In August 2020 facebook commissioned its own report surveying fifteen countries and 15,000 people who are currently members of online and in-person communities to learn more about communities and how they can best support them.
Facebook states “The research revealed that while all communities play a role in people’s lives, online communities, in particular, have taken on new roles, especially during the pandemic”.
Key findings from the Facebook Communities Insights Survey include:
- COVID-19 has brought out the best in communities. 91% of respondents said they have given some form of support to others through a group or community during the pandemic. 86% have said they received some form of support from others.
- Online communities are thriving. 77% say the most important group they are part of now operates online.
- Online communities provide a sense of belonging. 98% of people who belong to an online group say they feel a sense of belonging to that group.
- Communities provide a safe space. 33% of people whose preferred group operates primarily online told us they feel more comfortable sharing their feelings and perspectives with their group than with their friends and family.
- Community leaders bring people together. 58% of respondents agree that one of the top qualities that makes a community successful is having effective leaders.
According to Facebook data, over half of Facebook users are members of five or more active Groups. Communities are playing a vital role in connecting people and providing emotional support.
There IS someone for everyone!
Of course, Facebook and Facebook groups can be pretty toxic, and many community groups are mostly people moaning about parking, litter and noisy neighbours or trying to prove that one man’s trash is another’s treasure. But once again, some people like that – There IS someone for everyone… and they are probably on Facebook!