Ah, the holiday season, that magical time of year when people reconcile with the spirit of giving. It seems that more people are rolling up their sleeves to help their neighbors, or, should we say, firing up their laptops. According to United Way, volunteerism can spike by up to 50% during the winter months. One can almost hear the collective clunk of fruitcakes and canned goods being loaded into donation boxes. This year, however, there’s a new twist in town: virtual volunteering is on the ascent.
Virtual volunteering, a phenomenon that’s about as defined as a politician’s promise, refers to volunteering that happens using technology from a distance. Experts say this trend picked up speed when everyone was locked away indoors, trying to make sourdough bread and master the art of Zoom. Now, people are using these technologies to chip away at the world’s problems from within the cozy confines of their homes. It’s an appealing prospect, especially considering the traffic jams and frightful weather of the holiday season.
For folks who can’t seem to leave the house because they’d rather not face the horde at the mall or dodge slurry drivers, virtual volunteering is a way to contribute from their armchairs. These pixelated Good Samaritans are sprucing up websites, tutoring kids through video calls, and carrying out a host of other good deeds online. It’s a brave new world where a person can help without changing out of their pajamas, and where you can pause your volunteering to yell at the dog.
Take, for instance, a Virginia mom who sees this digital do-gooding as an opportunity for family bonding. She and her nine-year-old daughter are excited about the simplicity and convenience of volunteering online together. It’s heartwarming to imagine them clattering away at volunteer tasks on one screen, while the other screens in the house are reserved for holiday movies and shopping deals. It’s almost enough to make one believe in the magic of technology—when it’s not deciding to crash mid-session.
While virtual volunteering is on the rise, there’s also a growing breed of “hybrid volunteers” who mix online services with traditional in-person deeds. It seems people are increasingly willing to brave the outside world to help others, so long as they can also facilitate good from the comfort of their own sofas. Call it lazy, call it efficient, but either way, it shows that the desire to help has found new avenues in the digital age.
