Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students' Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation

摘要

This study examines if Facebook, one of the most popular social network sites amongncollege students in the U.S., is related to attitudes and behaviors that enhance individuals’nsocial capital. Using data from a random web survey of college students across Texasn(n = 2, 603), we find positive relationships between intensity of Facebook use and students’nlife satisfaction, social trust, civic engagement, and political participation. While thesenfindings should ease the concerns of those who fear that Facebook has mostly negative effectsnon young adults, the positive and significant associations between Facebook variables andnsocial capital were small, suggesting that online social networks are not the most effectivensolution for youth disengagement from civic duty and democracy.