جوامع مبارزه با جرایم دیجیتالی: مهار شایستگی مرزگستری رسانه های اجتماعی برای مشارکت مدنی Digitally enabled crime-fighting communities: Harnessing the boundary spanning competence of social media for civic engagement

1. Introduction Recent development in information, communication, and connectivity technology is unleashing new possibilities in nearly every aspect of our lives [23,55]. This paper considers the digitally enabled (and more specifically, social media-enabled) change in the context of civic duties and public engagement. Today, digital technology is increasingly being recognized as an important catalyst for national progress and social transformation [50]. The emerging use of social media, in particular, is establishing new opportunities for citizens around the world to participate and contribute their power in solving important public issues [52]. Several recent events have highlighted the power of social media in supporting civic behaviors. In countries such as Egypt and Libya, for example, citizens rely heavily on social media such as Facebook and Twitter for civic expressions during times of dramatic political uprising [34,51]. The Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring are just few powerful exemplary initiatives in recent years that demonstrate how social media allows communities to spark debate, effect change, and build movements like never before [33,44]. Taken together, the eager adoption of social media in public sphere is bringing a new form of civic participation [52]. Unlike the traditional, restricted model of civic engagement, social mediaenabled civic engagement fosters “openness, inclusivity and the opportunity to debate issues of common concern” [52]. Social media helps to stem the tide of civic disengagement by lowering the barriers to civil participation and collective action [10]. It allows the bridging of like-minded individuals [10] and provides a fertile context for the formation and expansion of networks [44]. Social media thus serves as a flexible means for large-scale, decentralized organizing, and represents a remarkable new opportunity for civic participation and collective actions [10]. However, despite the increasing use of social media in civic life in recent years and its demonstrated potential [39], research on social media-enabled civic engagement is still at a nascent stage [20].