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Journal ArticleDOI

The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:” Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites

01 Jul 2007-Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (Wiley/Blackwell (10.1111))-Vol. 12, Iss: 4, pp 1143-1168
TL;DR: Facebook usage was found to interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, a popular online social network site, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. In addition to assessing bonding and bridging social capital, we explore a dimension of social capital that assesses one’s ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited community, which we call maintained social capital. Regression analyses conducted on results from a survey of undergraduate students (N = 286) suggest a strong association between use of Facebook and the three types of social capital, with the strongest relationship being to bridging social capital. In addition, Facebook usage was found to interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This publication contains reprint articles for which IEEE does not hold copyright and which are likely to be copyrighted.
Abstract: Social network sites SNSs are increasingly attracting the attention of academic and industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach This special theme section of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication brings together scholarship on these emergent phenomena In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles in this special section and conclude with considerations for future research

14,912 citations


Cites background from "The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:”..."

  • ...Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe (2007) suggest that Facebook is used to maintain existing offline relationships or solidify offline connections, as opposed to meeting new people....

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  • ...This is one of the chief dimensions that differentiate SNSs from earlier forms of public CMC such as newsgroups (Ellison et al., 2007)....

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Book
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In Alone Together as mentioned in this paper, MIT technology and society professor Sherry Turkle explores the power of our new tools and toys to dramatically alter our social lives and argues that despite the handwaving of todays self-described prophets of the future, it will be the next generation who will chart the path between isolation and connectivity.
Abstract: Consider Facebookits human contact, only easier to engage with and easier to avoid. Developing technology promises closeness. Sometimes it delivers, but much of our modern life leaves us less connected with people and more connected to simulations of them. In Alone Together, MIT technology and society professor Sherry Turkle explores the power of our new tools and toys to dramatically alter our social lives. Its a nuanced exploration of what we are looking forand sacrificingin a world of electronic companions and social networking tools, and an argument that, despite the hand-waving of todays self-described prophets of the future, it will be the next generation who will chart the path between isolation and connectivity.

2,342 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Positive relationships between intensity of Facebook use and students' life satisfaction, social trust, civic engagement, and political participation are found, suggesting that online social networks are not the most effective solution for youth disengagement from civic duty and democracy.
Abstract: This study examines if Facebook, one of the most popular social network sites among college students in the U.S., is related to attitudes and behaviors that enhance individuals' social capital. Using data from a random web survey of college students across Texas (n = 2,603), we find positive relationships between intensity of Facebook use and students' life satisfaction, social trust, civic engagement, and political participation. While these findings should ease the concerns of those who fear that Facebook has mostly negative effects on young adults, the positive and significant associations between Facebook variables and social capital were small, suggesting that online social networks are not the most effective solution for youth disengagement from civic duty and democracy.

2,070 citations


Cites background or methods from "The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:”..."

  • ...By using SNSs, individuals seek to maintain and increase their social networks (Ellison et al., 2007; Joinson, 2008)....

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  • ...A more complete measure of intensity of Facebook use was developed by Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe (2007), who created a scale to gauge user engagement in Facebook activities based on number of ‘‘friends,’’ amount of time spent on the network on a typical day, and level of agreement with several…...

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  • ...For instance, college students with lower levels of life satisfaction could seek to participate in online networks to increase their personal well-being (Ellison et al., 2007)....

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  • ...Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication...

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  • ...This proposition was empirically tested by Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe (2007) using survey data from a small sample of undergraduate students in the U.S....

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Journal ArticleDOI
13 Sep 2012-Nature
TL;DR: Results from a randomized controlled trial of political mobilization messages delivered to 61 million Facebook users during the 2010 US congressional elections show that the messages directly influenced political self-expression, information seeking and real-world voting behaviour of millions of people.
Abstract: Online social networks are everywhere. They must be influencing the way society is developing, but hard evidence is scarce. For instance, the relative effectiveness of online friendships and face-to-face friendships as drivers of social change is not known. In what may be the largest experiment ever conducted with human subjects, James Fowler and colleagues randomly assigned messages to 61 million Facebook users on Election Day in the United States in 2010, and tracked their behaviour both online and offline, using publicly available records. The results show that the messages influenced the political communication, information-seeking and voting behaviour of millions of people. Social messages had more impact than informational messages and 'weak ties' were much less likely than 'strong ties' to spread behaviour via the social network. Thus online mobilization works primarily through strong-tie networks that may exist offline but have an online representation.

2,003 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For instance, this article found that 92 undergraduates completed a diary-like measure each day for a week, reporting daily time use and responding to an activities checklist to assess their use of the popular social networking site, Facebook.

1,997 citations


Cites background or result from "The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:”..."

  • ...A recent survey of college students in the U.S. showed that social networking sites are used for social interaction with offline acquaintances in order to maintain friendships rather than to make new friends (Ellison et al., 2007)....

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  • ...Only about 9% of our young adult sample used Facebook to make new friends, a finding consistent with those reported by Ellison et al. (2007) for college students, but which differs from findings with teens, about half of whom use social networking sites to make new friends (Lenhart &Madden, 2007)....

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  • ...Previous studies have found that more than 90% of college students use Facebook (Ellison et al., 2007; Wiley & Sisson, 2006)....

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  • ...All rights reserved....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The social implications of the public display of one's social network are explored and several design recommendations for future networking sites are included.
Abstract: Participants in social network sites create self-descriptive profiles that include their links to other members, creating a visible network of connections — the ostensible purpose of these sites is to use this network to make friends, dates, and business connections. In this paper we explore the social implications of the public display of one's social network. Why do people display their social connections in everyday life, and why do they do so in these networking sites? What do people learn about another's identity through the signal of network display? How does this display facilitate connections, and how does it change the costs and benefits of making and brokering such connections compared to traditional means? The paper includes several design recommendations for future networking sites.

1,421 citations


"The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:”..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Donath and boyd (2004) hypothesize that SNSs could greatly increase the weak ties one could form and maintain, because the technology is well-suited to maintaining such ties cheaply and easily....

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  • ...Bridging social capital might be augmented by such sites, which support loose social ties, allowing users to create and maintain larger, diffuse networks of relationships from which they could potentially draw resources (Donath & boyd, 2004; Resnick, 2001; Wellman et al., 2001)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of social capital that has explicit links to theories of Social capital was proposed and analyzed over a 20-year period, showing that the results do not consistently support Putnam's claim of a decline in social capital.
Abstract: Despite a great deal of interest in a possible decline of social capital in the United States, scholars have not reached a consensus on the trend. This article improves upon previous research by providing a model of social capital that has explicit links to theories of social capital and that analyzes multiple indicators of social capital over a 20‐year period. The results do not consistently support Putnam's claim of a decline in social capital, showing instead some decline in a general measure of social capital, a decline in trust in individuals, no general decline in trust in institutions, and no decline in associations.

1,332 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The evidence suggests that while these effects are largely dependent on the particular goals that users bring to the interaction-such as self-expression, affiliation, or competition-they also interact in important ways with the unique qualities of the Internet communication situation.
Abstract: The Internet is the latest in a series of technological breakthroughs in interpersonal communication, following the telegraph, telephone, radio, and television. It combines innovative features of its predecessors, such as bridging great distances and reaching a mass audience. However, the Internet has novel features as well, most critically the relative anonymity afforded to users and the provision of group venues in which to meet others with similar interests and values. We place the Internet in its historical context, and then examine the effects of Internet use on the user's psychological well-being, the formation and maintenance of personal relationships, group memberships and social identity, the workplace, and community involvement. The evidence suggests that while these effects are largely dependent on the particular goals that users bring to the interaction—such as self-expression, affiliation, or competition—they also interact in important ways with the unique qualities of the Internet communicat...

1,269 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: CSSNs accomplish a wide variety of cooperative work, connecting workers within and between organizations who are often physically dispersed, and link teleworkers from their homes or remote work centers to main organi...
Abstract: When computer networks link people as well as machines, they become social networks. Such computer-supported social networks (CSSNs) are becoming important bases of virtual communities, computer-supported cooperative work, and telework. Computer-mediated communication such as electronic mail and computerized conferencing is usually text-based and asynchronous. It has limited social presence, and on-line communications are often more uninhibited, creative, and blunt than in-person communication. Nevertheless, CSSNs sustain strong, intermediate, and weak ties that provide information and social support in both specialized and broadly based relationships. CSSNs foster virtual communities that are usually partial and narrowly focused, although some do become encompassing and broadly based. CSSNs accomplish a wide variety of cooperative work, connecting workers within and between organizations who are often physically dispersed. CSSNs also link teleworkers from their homes or remote work centers to main organi...

1,229 citations


"The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:”..." refers background in this paper

  • ...draw resources (Donath & boyd, 2004; Resnick, 2001; Wellman et al., 2001 )....

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  • ...mitigating any loss from time spent online ( Wellman, Haase, Witte, & Hampton, 2001 )....

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  • ... Wellman et al. (2001) , for example, find that...

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  • ...(Cummings, Lee, & Kraut, 2006; Wellman et al., 2001 )....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article found that people who feel better able to express their true self in Internet rather than face-to-face interaction settings are more likely to form close relationships with people met on the Internet.
Abstract: Those who feel better able to express their “true selves” in Internet rather than face-to-face interaction settings are more likely to form close relationships with people met on the Internet (McKenna, Green, & Gleason, this issue). Building on these correlational findings from survey data, we conducted three laboratory experiments to directly test the hypothesized causal role of differential self-expression in Internet relationship formation. Experiments 1 and 2, using a reaction time task, found that for university undergraduates, the true-self concept is more accessible in memory during Internet interactions, and the actual self more accessible during face-to-face interactions. Experiment 3 confirmed that people randomly assigned to interact over the Internet (vs. face to face) were better able to express their true-self qualities to their partners.

1,224 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...interaction and encourage more self-disclosure ( Bargh, McKenna, & Fitzsimons, 2002; Tidwell & Walther,...

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Trending Questions (1)
Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students’ Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation?

The answer to the query is not provided in the paper. The paper is about the relationship between use of Facebook and the formation and maintenance of social capital among college students.