Digital Care Work
Digital care work refers to the often invisible forms of labor that keep online spaces safe, sustainable, and functional. This includes activities such as content moderation, community management, online emotional support, technical maintenance, data cleaning, and digital stewardship. Such work enables platforms and digital communities to function and generate value, yet it is frequently underpaid, outsourced, or carried out through unpaid volunteer contributions. The continuity of digital public life depends to a large extent on this often-unrecognized care labor.
CURRENT STATISTICS
2
An estimated 2 million people work in content moderation worldwide, helping keep social media platforms functional and safe. Many are employed through outsourced contractors in lower-income countries.
90%
More than 90% of software applications rely on open-source components, many of which are maintained by volunteers and underfunded contributors.
28
More than 28 million developers contribute to open-source ecosystems globally, sustaining critical digital infrastructure through coding, maintenance, documentation, moderation, and community support.
CURRENT CARE POLICIES
Care Policy Recommendations Tool
At İhtimam, we curate emerging care policy recommendations and translate them into practical guidance for different stakeholders. Select a stakeholder group and thematic area to explore relevant policy recommendations, strategies, and actions from Türkiye and around the world.
THE FUTURE OF CARE
Care Radar
The Care Radar tracks emerging developments, weak signals, and evolving conversations across the care landscape. It is designed to help us understand how care is changing and to explore these shifts through an ethical and systems-oriented lens.
The Invisibility of Content Moderation
Content moderators play a critical role in keeping online spaces safe and functional, yet their work largely remains hidden from public view. As exposure to harmful and traumatic content increases, moderators often face significant psychological strain while working in low-paid or outsourced positions.
Community Management as Care Work
Online community managers do far more than enforce rules. They mediate conflicts, provide emotional support, foster belonging, and help shape community culture. Much of this care work remains invisible within formal job descriptions.
The Prevalence of Volunteer Digital Care
Many online forums, knowledge platforms, and digital communities rely on volunteers to answer questions, maintain resources, welcome newcomers, and support collective learning. The digital economy often depends on these unpaid forms of care and maintenance.
Online Spaces of Emotional Support
Mental health communities, parenting forums, peer-support groups, and crisis helplines are increasingly operating online. The emotional support provided in these spaces often involves intensive care work, much of it performed by non-professionals.
Rising Emotional Strain
Constant exposure to hate speech, violence, misinformation, and crisis-related content can contribute to burnout and emotional exhaustion among digital care workers. Support systems and wellbeing resources often remain inadequate.
The Fragility of Digital Public Spaces
When care work is absent, online spaces can quickly become hostile, unsafe, or exclusionary. The sustainability of digital public life depends not only on technical infrastructure, but also on the ongoing labor of care, moderation, and community stewardship.
