ABSTRACT
In this chapter we examine three central questions. First, how heterogeneous is the composition of adolescents' social ties becoming, and how much is this change linked to social and technological factors? Second, does this change affect the strength of adolescents' social ties? Third, what is the effect of information and communication technologies (ICT) on social capital, speci®cally whether ICT supports bonding or bridging social capital? We also examine the impact of network density and internet use on the quality of social relations among contemporary adolescents, and the impact of ICT on their ability to recon®gure their social networks and relational pattern. To put these important questions in context, we start with a discussion of the digital divide and its implications.
