How We're Connected: Facebook and Bridging Social Capital among College Students (2010)
Undergraduate: Christian Yoder
Faculty Advisor: Jane Brown
Department: Journalism & Mass Communication
Online social networks have had a profound effect on the way individuals connect with others and how they integrate themselves into communities. This study surveyed nearly 600 college undergraduates at UNC-Chapel Hill to determine their Facebook habits and whether its use could predict integration into university life. This integration was measured through an individual’s perceived level of bridging social capital, or the value of an individual’s social network. Specifically, the study asked the students how they felt about five specific Facebook communication features to see if their uses predicted different levels of bridging social capital. The results suggested that only Wall Posting was a significant predictor of bridging social capital. The original hypothesis stated that communication features that are third-party visible would be greater predictors of social capital. However, Status Updates and News Feed observation were not significant predictors despite being third-party visible. Wall Posts could be the only significant predictor because it is both third-party visible and an active form of communication, whereas Status Updates and News Feed Observation are both passive.