What is social capital? And how is it affected by new communication and information technologies, such as the internet, mobile phones, and social media? The research of Prof. Keith Hampton and colleagues featured in this video is based on a series of national, representative surveys of American adults, their use of digital technologies and the relationship to bonding and bridging social capital. Findings reveal that those who use these technologies tend to have more close friends and more diverse social networks overall. Social media users report more social support, and their networks are often more diverse because they spend more time in diverse social settings: public parks, voluntary groups, etc.

For more information about Keith Hampton and his research, visit http://www.mysocialnetwork.net.

Related Publications:
Hampton, Keith, Lauren Sessions, & Eun Ja Her (2011). Core Networks, Social Isolation, and New Media: Internet and Mobile Phone Use, Network Size, and Diversity. Information, Communication & Society 14(1), 130-155. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10...

Hampton, Keith, Chul-joo Lee, & Eun Ja Her (2011). How New Media Affords Network Diversity: Direct and Mediated Access to Social Capital through Participation in Local Social Settings. New Media & Society 13(7), 1301-1049. http://nms.sagepub.com/content/13/7/1031

Hampton, Keith (2011). Comparing Bonding and Bridging Ties for Democratic Engagement: Everyday Use of Communication Technologies within Social Networks for Civic and Civil Behaviors. Information, Communication & Society 14(4), 510-528. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10...

Lora Appel, Punit Dadlani, Maria Dwyer, Keith N. Hampton, Vanessa Kitzie, Ziad A. Matni, Patricia Moore, and Rannie Teodoro (2014). Testing the Validity of Social Capital Measures in the Study of Information and Communication Technologies. Information, Communication and Society 17(4), 398-416. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10...