Effects of social participation and the emergence of voluntary social interactions on household power‐saving practices in post‐disaster Kanagawa, Japan

An online social survey was conducted to reveal household electricity‐saving behaviour and its relationship with participation in social group activities, as well as face‐to‐face and online social interactions, i.e., information sources used and information dissemination through personal networks, in a disaster‐affected region of Kanagawa, Japan, during the summer of 2011. The study confirms the positive contribution of respondents’ participation in social group activities to the number of power‐saving practices conducted. It also reveals the emergence of voluntary social face‐to‐face and/or online interactions for power‐saving. The study suggests it would be useful to provide effective information to proactive individuals who are closely engaged in power‐saving in households and who are proactively disseminating power‐saving information practices to others. Such individuals include (1) women who have school‐children and who are proactively engaging in the social interactions of their children’s schools, other parents, neighbours, as well as their own parents and relatives; and (2) men and women who are using various kinds of online interaction tools and are also engaged in face‐to‐face social interactions.