Are you thinking about spending some of your time joining a volunteer group?

Recently, more volunteer groups and communities have emerged in Indonesia. These groups offer opportunities to help people in rural areas or tackle important issues like natural disasters or social problems. Volunteering can mean getting out there on the ground or even helping spread awareness online through social media campaigns.

Before this wave of volunteer groups, research about prosocial behavior had already been done in many countries. According to the World Giving Index 2024 (Global Trends in Generosity), Indonesia ranked #1 as the Most Generous Country in the world; six out of ten Indonesians spend their time volunteering (Charities Aid Foundation, 2024). This research involved over 145,000 people worldwide, and Indonesia’s score has remained consistently high for the past seven years.

Annisa, the leader of the Jaroe Aceh Youth Community, was interviewed by Radio Republik Indonesia. She said joining volunteer groups is now a trend among young people (Bahari, 2024). This data is supported by the Indonesian Volunteering Study Report 2022, which found that most volunteers are 15-24 years old (Hijriani et al., 2022), which according to BPS Indonesia, they are in young people age group. With that in mind, why are young people racing to join volunteer groups? And what’s going on within these groups?

What is volunteering, and who is considered a volunteer?

Cnaan et al. (1996) say that volunteer work involves four main points:

1. It’s done freely and naturally.
2. Volunteers don’t expect material rewards or personal benefits.
3. The activity happens under an organization (government or non-profit) or in a specific situation that needs help.
4. Volunteers usually help strangers, though sometimes they might help people with a similar background (same ethnicity, religion, or identity).

Volunteers participate in activities that fit these four points. Over time, volunteers working toward a specific goal often form volunteer groups.

Why are young people eager to join volunteer groups?

Psychologically, young people are in a phase where they’re trying to find themselves, and they can do that through group identity—like being part of a volunteer group (Thoits, 2021). One way to explain this is through Social Identity Theory. This theory says that people seek to join groups that boost their confidence and social identity. Once they’re part of a group, they start identifying with it and comparing themselves to other groups (Ellemers & Haslam, 2012).

Many young people who join volunteer groups seek a sense of belonging that helps build their self-confidence. A recent study found that people volunteer most because of their values (Zhou & Kodama Muscente, 2023). This value is the desire to help others and do good for society. By volunteering, young people feel proud and believe they’re contributing to something bigger than themselves, which boosts their confidence and helps them grow as individuals.

Another dynamic of volunteering: seeing yourself as a citizen

The dynamic doesn’t just happen when people join a volunteer group—it continues as they engage in volunteer activities. The Indonesian Volunteering Study Report 2022 found that 11% of young people feel a sense of social responsibility when volunteering (Hijriani et al., 2022). This shows that many people get involved because they feel responsible for helping others. Empathy is a significant factor in motivating someone to help, especially when the people they help share the same background (Stürmer et al., 2005).

In volunteer groups, members often need to consider themselves part of a more significant identity to provide better aid. In other words, beyond identifying as volunteers, they also see themselves as citizens of a bigger group, such as a country. This is explained in Social Identity Theory, where people categorize themselves in a way that makes others part of the “in-group.” This helps them want to support and maintain their more significant identity as responsible citizens.

But volunteer groups also face social dilemmas

However, volunteer groups don’t just focus on maintaining a more significant identity. Members also face what’s called a “volunteer’s dilemma.” This is a situation where individuals have to decide whether to bear the cost of helping others, even if they won’t get any direct personal benefits (Krueger et al., 2016). People also tend to believe that others will treat them the way they behave, a concept known as the social projection heuristic. So, while some may value helping others and see themselves as good citizens, they might also want something in return for what they give. This means that before joining a volunteer group, people should consider whether they’re genuinely committed or following the latest trend among young people.

So, what’s your choice? Yay or nay for joining a volunteer group?

After understanding why young people are so eager to join volunteer groups, it’s clear there are many reasons behind it. However, the real challenge begins once they become members. Even so, volunteering can boost self-confidence, give a sense of purpose and control over one’s life, and improve psychological well-being (Choi & Kim, 2011).

So, are you still thinking about joining a volunteer group?

References:

Badan Pusat Statistik Indonesia. (2023). Statistik Pemuda Indonesia 2023 (4103008; hlm. 1–466). Badan Pusat Statistik.

Badan Pusat Statistik Indonesia. (2023). Statistik Pemuda Indonesia 2023 (4103008; hlm. 1–466). Badan Pusat Statistik.

Bahari, F. (2024). Sukarelawan Jadi Trend Anak Muda, Benarkah ? Rri. Co.Id – Portal Berita Terpercaya. https://www.rri.co.id/hobi/821996/sukarelawan-jadi-trend-anak-muda-benarkah

Charities Aid Foundation. (2024). World giving index 2024: Global trend in generosity (hlm. 1–21). Charities Aid Foundation; 2024. https://www.cafonline.org/

Choi, N. G., & Kim, J. (2011). The effect of time volunteering and charitable donations in later life on psychological wellbeing. Ageing and Society, 31(4), 590–610. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X10001224

Cnaan, R. A., Handy, F., & Wadsworth, M. (1996). Defining who is a volunteer: Conceptual and empirical considerations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 25(3), 364–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764096253006

Hijriani, I. F., Ulfah, N., Mufti, A. K., Puspitasari, M., Muharumi, A. N., Amalia, B., Novitasari, D., Rizkiah, N., Rezaldi, Hutami, A. M., Fauziah, Y., Marliana, Astuti, Zulfannisa, A. S., Zein, A. W., Muslimin, H., Korwa, F. F., Novrizal, Al Mufid, S., … Mansur, U. (2022). Indonesian volunteering study reports 2022. Institute for Volunteering Studies. https://ivostudies.com/publikasi/indonesian-volunteering-study-reports-2022

Krueger, J. I., Ullrich, J., & Chen, L. J. (2016). Expectations and decisions in the volunteer’s dilemma: Effects of social distance and social projection. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01909

Thoits, P. A. (2021). Motivations for peer-support volunteering: Social identities and role-identities as sources of motivation. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 50(4), 797–815. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764020983897 Zhou, S., & Kodama Muscente, K. (2023). Meta-analysis of volunteer motives using the volunteer functions inventory to predict volunteer satisfaction, commitment, and behavior. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 52(5), 1331–1356. https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640221129540