The Impact of Facebook Use on Micro-Level Social Capital: A Synthesis

Marjolijn Antheunis,Saskia Kanters,Mariek Vanden Abeele

doi:10.3390/soc5020399

Abstract

The relationship between Facebook use and micro-level social capital has received substantial scholarly attention over the past decade. This attention has resulted in a large body of empirical work that gives insight into the nature of Facebook as a social networking site and how it influences the social benefits that people gather from having social relationships. Although the extant research provides a solid basis for future research into this area, a number of issues remain underexplored. The aim of the current article is twofold. First, it seeks to synthesize what is already known about the relationship between Facebook use and micro-level social capital. Second, it seeks to advance future research by identifying and analyzing relevant theoretical, analytical and methodological issues. To address the first research aim, we first present an overview and analysis of current research findings on Facebook use and social capital, in which we focus on what we know about (1) the relationship between Facebook use in general and the different subtypes of social capital; (2) the relationships between different types of Facebook interactions and social capital; and (3) the impact of self-esteem on the relationship between Facebook use and social capital. Based on this analysis, we subsequently identify three theoretical issues, two analytical issues and four methodological issues in the extant body of research, and discuss the implications of these issues for Facebook and social capital researchers.

Highlights

In recent years, the popularity of social network sites (SNSs) has increased significantly [1].As of December 2012, 67 percent of online adults in the U.S state that they use one or more SNSs [2].Among college students, this number is found to be even higher [3]
The results of this study revealed that the intensity of Facebook use in the first year strongly predicted bridging social capital in the second year
The first aim of the current review article was to provide a synthesis of the extant body of research on Facebook use and micro-level social capital by presenting an overview and analysis of current research findings

Summary

Introduction

The popularity of social network sites (SNSs) has increased significantly [1].As of December 2012, 67 percent of online adults in the U.S state that they use one or more SNSs [2].Among college students, this number is found to be even higher [3]. Two notable studies that fed these concerns were the studies from Kraut and his colleagues on the effects of Internet use on social relationships [8,9]. Kraut et al [8] described the Internet’s role as paradoxical: the technology was supposed to bring benefits to people’s social lives by enabling online social interaction, the researchers found that heavier Internet users were more likely to suffer from loneliness and depression. In a follow-up study [9], these findings were somewhat nuanced as the researchers found the former assumption was only true for those who already have poor social relationships (the poor-get-poorer hypothesis), whereas people leading rich social lives were found to benefit from online interactions (the rich-get-richer hypothesis)

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Results

Conclusion