Myspace, Facebook, and the Strength of Internet Ties: Online Social Networking and Bridging Social Capital

Myspace, Facebook, and the Strength of Internet Ties
Online Social Networking and Bridging Social Capital
By Adkins, Angela M.
Master of Arts, University of Akron, Sociology, 2009.
Pages: 48p.
571.72 kB PDF file


Abstract:
Online social networking sites seem particularly well-suited to forming the loose connections between diverse social networks, or weak ties, associated with bridging social capital, but is using one site the same as using another? This study explores the user and usage characteristics of two popular social networking websites, Myspace and Facebook, and then investigates the relationship between online social networking and bridging social capital using survey data from 929 university students and faculty members. Myspace users tend to have less education and be more racially diverse, have lower incomes, and focus more on forming new social ties online. Conversely, Facebook users tend to be better educated, have higher income, and focus more on maintaining relationships with their existing offline ties. A positive association exists between the degree of online social networking and bridging capital, although there was no meaningful difference in bridging capital between those who used Myspace only and those who used Facebook only. However, the results indicate that the use of Myspace in conjunction with Facebook significantly increases bridging capital and moderates the effect of race, income, and degree of usage. Together, this evidence suggests that online social networking is a useful tool for enlarging and maintaining a diverse social network, but that the examination of online social networking in the aggregate may hide distinctions among sites. Different sites are used in different ways, and thus using more than one site might provide the greatest benefit in terms of increased bridging capital.

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