Investigating Relations Between Facebook Use and Social Capital Among College Undergraduates

Abstract

This article examines relations between Facebook® (FB) use and social capital among 530 undergraduate students. The results demonstrated that using FB habitually was associated with gains in online bridging and offline network capital. This study also examined 2 motivations for using FB: the motivation to socialize with others and the motivation to improve one's status. Results showed that using FB for sociability reasons was associated with increased online bridging and bonding. Using FB more for status than for sociability was not associated with decreased online bridging and bonding. Finally, the results provided evidence of the sociability motivation mediating the relationship between FB habit and online bridging and bonding. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• Facebook
• Social Capital
• Social Networking

Notes

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. †p < .10.

Note. White was coded as 1 = Caucasian, 0 = all others. African American was similarly coded as 1 = African American, 0 = all others. Gender was coded as 1 = male, 2 = female. Coefficients are standardized betas.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. †p < .10.

Note. White was coded as 1 = Caucasian, 0 = all others. African American was similarly coded as 1 = African American, 0 = all others. Gender was coded as 1 = male, 2 = female. Coefficients are standardized betas.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. †p < .10.

It is important to note that the direction of influence that we assume in this article is from FB use to social capital; this is in line with the direction of influence demonstrated by a panel study by Steinfield, Ellison, and Lampe (2008). However, based on the cross-sectional nature of this study, this assumption cannot be empirically tested.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Stevens Aubrey

Jennifer Stevens Aubrey (Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2004) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona.

Leslie Rill

Leslie Rill (Ph.D., University of Missouri, 2009) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nevada-Reno.