Throughout the past several years, we began to share more personal belongings online; it started with music, stories and pictures on social media. Additionally, we started to exchange more and more items through sites such as Marktplaats. The emergence of the sharing economy affects a growing number of economic sectors today; we share our houses on Airbnb, tools on Peerby, energy on Vandebron or Powerpeers, knowledge on Konnektid, food on Thuisafgehaald, rides on Blablacar, and cars and parking spaces on platforms such as Snappcar, MyWheels and Mobypark. With these platforms, the Dutch gain access to each other’s belongings and services. In the Netherlands, one in five people use online sharing platforms (including Airbnb and Marktplaats.nl). However, sharing is not a new phenomenon, as people used to share their belongings long before the emergence of the sharing economy. Nowadays, we do not merely share our belongings with friends, family or other relatives but also with people we have never met. Research has shown that the percentage of Dutch people who are willing to share their belongings with strangers has grown from 10% to over 30% in the last 3 years. Read more...
Read More
