“It Actually Doesn’t Feel Very Mutual:” How Technology Impacts the Values of Mutual Aid Groups in Practice

Social movement organizations, such as mutual aid groups, rely on technology to increase their influence, meet immediate needs, and address systemic inequalities. In this paper, we examine the role of technology in moments of crisis and the tensions mutual aid groups face when relying on tools designed with values that may be antithetical to their own. Through a qualitative study with mutual aid volunteers in the United States, we found that mutual aid groups’ values, such as solidarity, security, and co-production, are prioritized as they navigate adopting technology. However, while technology can streamline logistics and enhance visibility for mutual aid groups, we argue that the adoption of existing technologies and conventions of practice can erode opportunities for building solidarity, present challenges for accountability, and exacerbate pre-existing social exclusions. We argue that these tensions emerge not simply as a mismatch between values and technical design, but as systematic outcomes of adopting tools that embed different political assumptions and points of access. Our findings contribute to understanding how values shape — and are shaped by — technological infrastructure in mutual aid work.