ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we will describe two related strands of research-social capital gains and online/offline interaction patterns-to explicate the mechanisms by which social capital is generated and maintained on social network sites (SNSs). This chapter reviews a series of studies we have conducted investigating college undergraduates’ use of Facebook, one of the most popular SNSs among undergraduate students in the United States. This body of research explores two primary questions. First, what are the social capital implications, if any, of Facebook use by students, specifically in relation to bridging and bonding social capital? Second, how is Facebook integrated into the daily communication practices of its users? Specifically, are users articulating existing relationships in Facebook, or are they using the site to discover and interact with strangers? We review extant literature examining these questions, and then summarize our studies over the last four years. Finally, we describe the mechanisms by which we believe these two sets of findings are related. Facebook shares a set of characteristics with hundreds of other SNSs, defined as:
web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.
