Who likes to be reachable? Availability preferences, weak ties, and bridging social capital

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we investigate how individual differences in availability preferences are related to (1) self-reported quality of interaction with strong and weak ties and (2) perceptions of bridging social capital. We employed experience sampling methods and collected data over the course of two weeks—combined with surveys at baseline and endpoint, from a random sample of college students (N = 154). We show that individuals who prefer to be more available to others report more rewarding interactions with weak ties. Furthermore, we demonstrate how the quality of weak tie interactions mediates a positive relationship between availability preferences and bridging social capital. We conclude by discussing the relationships between availability, interaction quality, and bridging social capital. We propose availability preferences as a key construct to be considered in future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Availability
• weak ties
• strong ties
• social capital
• communication technologies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Penny Trieu is a PhD student in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Her research interests concern how relational processes unfold via a range of communication technologies, particularly social media. She also looks at identity processes, notably self-presentation and impression management, on social media.

Joseph B. Bayer is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. His research centers on social media and social network cognition, with a special focus on mobile behavior and perception.

Nicole B. Ellison (1999, University of Southern California) is a Professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Her research addresses issues of social capital, relationship development, self-presentation, and identity in social media environments such as Facebook and online dating sites. This research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the National Academies of Science. A complete list of her publications is available here: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=P0XTYBEAAAAJ

Sarita Schoenebeck is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Her research explores the study and design of social computing systems, with a focus on families and social media use. A list of her publications is available at http://yardi.people.si.umich.edu/publications.html

Emily Falk is an Associate Professor of Communication, Psychology, and Marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. She studies why people share information and what makes them successful in persuading others. She also studies what makes people receptive to social influence and how ideas spread through social networks. She employs a variety of methods drawn from communication science, neuroscience, and psychology, with particular focus on neural predictors of behavior change.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Michigan's MCubed Research Program.