Theories on social ties in online communities state that all tightly connected online communities display some level of homogeneity. 

Online communities which become too homogenous risk turning into echo chambers and toxic environments

Negative consequence: Echo Chambers and Toxic Environments

A social state in which a community becomes exclusionary and homogenous.  Insular communities are highly homogenous, and exclude people who do not share the same beliefs and interests as the rest of the group. Groups which develop high social cohesion may become so tightly connected, that they become exclusionary.

DePaul University

Creating a connection within the members of the community creates a sense of belonging and a motivation to continue engaging with others and the goals within the group. 
Social cohesion can be increased by improving:
- social loafing 
- social presence
- social capital
- personalized profiles
- gamification
- sharing of news

Factors that Interact with Social Cohesion in Communities

Allison, K., Bussey, K. (2020). Communal Quirks and Circle jerks: A taxonomy of processes contributing to Insularity in Online Communities. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, 14. https://doi.org/10.1609/icwsm.v14i1.7275.

A taxonomy of processes contributing to Insularity in Online Communities

Using personal profiles create a sense of familiarity between students. This allows students to be more than just a name on a screen during class but to have a whole profile that expresses their personal interest and hobbies. Having these profiles allow students to form connections with one another that encourages participation- ultimately leading to increased educational performance.

Connection with others: Personalized profiles

Within a Computer-mediated communication (CMC) context, social presence is the extent to which an individual is perceived as a genuine human being in communication through a medium and represents the psychological connection between people.

The greater social presence there is, the more interactions there are within the community (i.e. more engagement) leading to stronger connections, trust, and social ties between students resulting in a greater social cohesion.

Social presence in social cohesion

Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to devote less time or effort when working with others compared to working alone.

When an individual is not interacting with the rest of the group members, there is a lack of social cohesion and emotional connection amongst the group. Improving social loafing would lead to more equally distributed contribution and connection between all of the group members.

Social Loafing in Social Cohesion

Social ties relies on having a connection with other members within the community, The greater the amount of social ties, the more comfortable members are within the community and more likely to continue contribution, collaboration, and cohesion with other members of the community.

Ways to increase the social ties within an online community to further increase the connection between members
- anonymity of profiles
- more offline behavior/activities

Improving Social Ties in Online Communities

Social capital is the extension of available or potentially available resources for the community as a result of the network of relationships from an individual within the community. Social capital has three dimensions:
- relational capital (social trust)
- cognitive capital (shared narrative)
- structural capital (social tie)

The greater the social capital is, the more likely the individual is interacting with others within the community, therefore increasing the social cohesion. Additionally, the more members that strengthen their social network in the community, the greater the overall social cohesion will be

Social Capital in Social Cohesion

Gamification has been implemented within work environments to examine how it may increase team cohesion-related effects.

Gamification to Increase Team Cohesion-Related Effects

Members of online communities often share news to increase social cohesion within their groups

Sharing of News to Increase Social Cohesion

Insularity

Anonymity is the extent to which individuals can participate in social interactions and communities without revealing their personal identity or information. Varying degrees of anonymity can come into play depending on the platform, context, and measures taken by an individual to obscure their identity. As such, anonymity exists upon a spectrum ranging from total transparency, where an individual's identity is fully disclosed, to complete anonymity, where no identifiable information can be found.

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