Who wants to know? Question-asking and answering practices among Facebook users (original) (raw)
Related papers
Social capital on Facebook: Differentiating uses and users
2011
Abstract Though social network site use is often treated as a monolithic activity, in which all time is equally social and its impact the same for all users, we examine how Facebook affects social capital depending upon:(1) types of site activities, contrasting one-on-one communication, broadcasts to wider audiences, and passive consumption of social news, and (2) individual differences among users, including social communication skill and self-esteem.
Social networking sites have changed the way people communicate all around the world. It has made it easier for people to maintain ongoing relationships with friends, family, colleagues, etc. As well as create new relationships with people in the same community or even a total stranger who lives half the world away. Theoretically, Social network sites (SNSs) can be defined as “a 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” (Boyd & Ellison, Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship, 2007). Social networking sites or SNS has been the way for people around the world to meet new people or get to know more about people that they have met offline. The first SNS was launched in 1997 and currently there are hundreds of SNSs across the globe, supporting a spectrum of practices, interests and users (Boyd & Ellison, Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship, 2007). From all the social networking sites available, there are only a few that has attracted quite a number of people around the world. There is one social networking site in particular that has gained an enormous level of popularity over the past few years and is currently used by over a hundred million users around the world, Facebook.
The determinants of social capital on facebook
STPS Working Paper Series, 2011
This paper investigates the effect of socioeconomic status, trust and privacy concerns, and socio psychological factors on building three structural measures of social capital, which are bridging, bonding and network size (degree). Using online survey data, I find the evidence that trust and privacy concerns, being a female, and the number of hours spent in Facebook are significant determinants of bridging social capital and degree. I show that females and respondents that have trust and privacy concerns are less likely to build bridging social capital. In addition to this, the number of hours spent on Facebook is positively related to the probability of engaging in bridging social capital. The results also suggest that females are less likely to increase their network size. On the other hand, respondents that spend more hours on Facebook and respondents that come from high-income class are more likely to increase their network size.
Research has established a positive relationship between Facebook use and perceptions of social capital, a construct that describes the total resources − both potential and actual − available in one’s social network. However, the process through which social capital conversions occur is unclear. This study presents results from semi-structured interviews with 18 adult Facebook users (ages 25 to 55) about their Facebook use, focusing on how participants use the site to request and provide social support (associated with bonding social capital) and information (associated with bridging social capital). Findings describe how Facebook use facilitates interactions related to social capital and users’ beliefs about the potential negative outcomes of these interactions, providing insight into how users negotiate potential benefits and risks when making decisions about site use.
Use of Facebook as a Source of Social Capital
This research work was intended o study the effects of Facebook usage on the social capital of youth in Pakistan. Through this study, the researcher anticipated to make valued contribution in developing better understanding of Facebook uses among Pakistani youth. For this purpose a research questionnaire was devised to collect data from the university students of Islamabad. The questions were based on demographics, intensity of Facebook usage and social capital. The results were tested to identify and explain the relationship of Facebook usage on the social capital of the youth. The researcher also tried to explore the concepts of bonding and bridging social capital in the online settings. It is evident from the findings of the statistical analysis that there is a high intensity relationship between Facebook and the scale of social capital among the university students in Pakistan. Mostly, individuals who were found to have membership in Facebook since long considered it one of the most effective tools of building social capital.
Facebook use and social capital: To bond, to bridge, or to escape
This study employs the uses and gratification approach to investigate how different forms of Facebook use are linked to bridging social capital and bonding social capital. A survey of 152 college students was conducted to address research questions and to test hypotheses. Factor analysis identified six unique uses and gratifications: (a) information seeking, (b) entertainment, (c) communication, (d) social relations, (e) escape, and (f) Facebook applications. Findings reveal that intensity of Facebook use and the use of Facebook for social relations are positive predictors of bridging social capital, whereas the use of Facebook for escape is negatively linked to bonding social capital. Min-Woo Kwon is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His research interests cover social and psychological impacts of communication and information technologies and how social media affect human behavior. Jonathan D'Angelo is a PhD student in Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a Master's in Communication from Ohio State University and a Master's in Education from the University of Michigan. Douglas McLeod is the William T. Evjue Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research develops the antecedents and consequences of mass communication: social conflicts and the mass media, and media content and public opinion and knowledge.
Online Social Network Sites and Social Capital: A Case of Facebook
The present study is a theoretical and literary review of online social network sites and their impact on social capital. In this review, the Facebook is selected as one popular and important online social networking site in the world today. To This end, first two main concepts of social capital, bridging and bonding social capital has been provided. Next, the concept of online social networks and the impact of FB on social networks are discussed.