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Internet usage as social capital : a case study of young people in North Karelia, Finland

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A thesis presented to the

Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies MDP in Border Crossings

Global and Local Societies in Transition MSocSc in Sociology

Joensuu Campus

Internet usage as social capital: a case study of young people in North Karelia, Finland

Master Thesis 40 ECTS

Supervisors: Professor Laura Assmuth and Dr. Päivi Armila Samriddhi Bose

Student number: 260480

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ABSTRACT

The concept of social capital is significant in social sciences to understand contemporary societies. Social capital explains the importance of using social connections and social relations in achieving goals. Resources accessed through social connections and relations, is crucial in achieving goals for individuals and communities. It is found to influence many aspects of social life- directly or indirectly. Social relationships or networks, affect the ways of living and behaving in society that follows to individual’s well-being. Adolescents are now using the online communication to form and/or to maintain relationships with strangers, families and/or friends. This study examines the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in acquiring social-relationships i.e., a type of social capital that effects individual’s well-being amongst Finnish high-school adolescents of North Karelia region. It examines the social attachment of the respondents through face-to-face social-interaction or communication in the social activity groups or centers. The study also tries to examine how distance is a factor of making choices amongst the Finnish adolescents of the rural localities. The data was collected through survey method; questionnaires were mailed to the schools. The result was analyzed using SPSS. Two hundred and fifty-five students from Outokumpu, Nurmes, Ilomantsi and Kontiolahti high schools aged between 17 to 19 years completed the questionnaire.

Key words: social capital, social relationships, well-being, Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

1. INTRODUCTION………...1

2. THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ...……….6

2.1 COMMUNICATION………....7

2.2 SOCIAL CAPITAL AND IT’S TYPES………....9

2.3 SOCIAL CAPITAL, RELATIONSHIPS, WELL-BEING AND INTERNET USE………...14

2.3.1 RELATIONSHIPS, TRUST AND SOCIAL CAPITAL……….15

2.3.2 SOCIAL CAPITAL AND WELL- BEING………..17

2.3.3 SOCIAL CAPITAL, ICT AND INTERNET USE………...19

2.4 DESCRIPTION OF TERMINOLOGIES USED……….………...22

2.4.1 COMMUNITY……….22

2.4.2 INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)………..…………....23

2.4.3 NETWORKS……….24

2.4.4 SOCIAL NETWORK SITES (SNS)………...24

2.4.5 TRUST………...25

3. CONTEXTUALIZATIONS………27

3.1 THE FINNISH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM……….27

3.2 AREA OF FIELD WORK: FINLAND- NORTH KARELIA……….30

3.2.1 ILOMANTSI………....33

3.2.2 KONTIOLAHTI………...33

3.2.3 NURMES……….…...34

3.2.4 OUTOKUMPU………34

4. CARRYING OUT THE RESEARCH………...36

4.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………..………….………..36

4.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT & OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY……….36

4.3 RESEARCH DESIGN………..37

4.3.1 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH………..……...37

4.4 POPULATION AND SAMPLE………..……….38

4.4.1 POPULATION ………...38

4.4.2 SAMPLE ………..…....39

4.5 DATA COLLECTION………..39

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4.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS………...40

5. EMPIRICAL FINDINGS………...……….………...42

5.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION..………...43

5.2 ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY…………...51

5.3 ACCESS TO COMMUNITY ACTIVITY CENTERS/GROUPS…………...58

6 CONCLUSION………...61

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY & WEBLIOGRAPHY………...65

APPENDIX I (Questionnaire)………...i

APPENDIX II (Letters from schools and emails)………...v

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LIST OF FIGURES

 Figure-1: Age of respondents

 Figure-2: Gender of respondents

 Figure-3: Live with Family

 Figure-4: School

 Figure-5: Grade/Year of Study

 Figure-6: Use of Technological Gadgets

 Figure-7: Access to Internet at Different Places

 Figure-8: Internet Use Per Day

 Figure-9: Purpose of Internet Use

 Figure-10: (a.) Member of Online Social Networking Sites; (b.) Use of Online Social Networking Sites

 Figure-11: (a.) Associated with Community Activity Center/Groups; (b.) Visiting Community Activity Center/Groups; (c.) Possess Good Friends in the Community Activity Center/Groups

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1.INTRODUCTION

Human society is a group of people involved in constant social interaction, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory; it is characterized by patterns of social relationships between individuals who share a distinctive culture. A given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its members. A society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would otherwise not be possible on an individual basis.

In sociology, the web of social relationships is a form of social capital that individuals of the society harness through communication and its different modes. Social relationships are also being constructed and maintained through the advanced technologies in this information society apart from traditional means. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and social capital put forward thought provoking questions. To a sociologist it poses question for the possibility of studying the relationship between social capital and ICT use at the individual level, whether social capital be addressed as individual or collective characteristic. Sociological theory points it to be fundamentally an issue of social interaction, social networks, norms of reciprocity and trust. It is difficult to assess these human-social relationships and the tools of interaction to frame them. However, it is equally important to attempt to do so as these social relationships are the backbone of society as they promote interaction between individuals, enhances collective coordination of activities and support the attainment of individual and collective goals. The social relationships or networks affect the ways of living and behaving in society that follows to individual’s well-being.

This work stresses upon the connections between the use of ICT in obtaining social relationships i.e., a form of social capital amongst the young Finnish high-school adolescents who are a part of the ‘digital natives’, a term coined and popularized by Marc Prensky in his article ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’ (2001). The digital natives are the individuals who are born after 1980s, who unlike the digital immigrants live their lives online often failing to distinguish online and offline lives. It tries to explain, understand and analyze the impact of Internet usage through different high-tech advanced technological gadgets in acquiring social-relationships (i.e., a type of social capital) by the Finnish high-school adolescents of sparsely populated areas of North Karelia region. It also examines the social attachment of the respondents through face-to-face social-interaction or communication in the social activity groups or centers. In doing so the intertwining of social capital and ICT

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can be studied and the differentiation between face-to-face and online interaction in creating and maintaining social-relationships.

Humans, being social-beings need to communicate with others for their necessities. Without communication, no relationship can be formed and without relationship, no society can sustain. Hence, for a society to survive social-relationships or ties are pivotal. Consequently, humans have tried to invent with newer forms of communicating mediums over time to gather social-ties, a form of social capital.

In this 21st century, physical connectivity has loosened to a considerable extent. However, communication, the crux of human relationship, has not stopped. In this digitalized era, ICT has tremendously effected the human communication system and allowed to gather social capital in a faster process. ICT provides Internet based social networking services that connect people who share interests and activities across political, economic and geographic borders within no time limitation. People can get in touch with their dear ones over video- chats, messengers and even send gifts without being physically present. Such social networks are providing a different way for individuals to communicate digitally. They allow for the sharing of information and ideas in a digital environment.

The young adolescents who have born in this digitalized era, experience relationships differently than their previous generations who have also been part of the non-digitalized system of communication. These adolescents depend on the Internet to fulfil cognitive, personal and social needs. ICT affects everyday life, including relationships, entertainment, work etc. Social networking sites are used by young adolescents of high schools, colleges and universities to network with professionals for internship and job opportunities (Castells

& Cardoso 2005). Apart from this, youngsters use social networking sites, chat rooms, messengers for meeting new friends, finding old friends or locating people who have similar problems or interests they have (niche networking). Moreover, for higher studies, internships or other purposes they move away from their families and friends, hence use online communication as a medium to reach their loved ones and to make new connections in the new setting.

The places where this survey was conducted are all small towns with less people, little scope of higher study and job opportunities. Hence, adolescents have to move for better future to nearby cities that would mean estrangement from family and old friendship ties. Friendship or peers play a vital role in the lives of adolescents. Therefore, in these cases the ICT would

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assist them in maintaining old ties. Internet is particularly useful for keeping contact among friends who are geographically and socially scattered.

Social networking sites assist in developing and maintaining relationships. Online formed relationships are carried offline later and vice versa. ICT helps in growing networks that facilitate cooperative activities within groups. The link between social isolation and reduced psychological well-being is well established in sociology, dating back to Durkheim (Kawachi and Berkman 2001). Smaller social networks, fewer close relationships, and lower perceived adequacy of social support have all been linked to depressive symptoms (Barnett

& Gotlib 1988). Individuals having lesser social-ties have a feeling of exclusion that can negatively affect her/his mental and physical well-being. Youths with low self-esteem seem to benefit from the use of the online networking sites (Ellison et al. 2007). Adolescents, who are shy to talk in a physical setup, can mix with people online that helps them to communicate and gain social-ties.

On the contrary, it is contended that the digital world created through the ICT weakens real- world ties, curtail face-to-face interactions, erodes psychological well-being and reduces community involvement (Kraut et al. 1998). Playing with friends outside after school has been replaced with online computer games. Youngsters nowadays prefer to sit back at home and play online games rather than go outside for playing. Studies have been digitalized too.

The physical setting of a classroom with teachers teaching the student, have been replaced with online courses. Students can now sit back in front of the computer or laptop and take online courses, learn about different subjects etc. All this have put back the students from interacting with the real world, with their friends and teachers. It has made them incapable of carrying out physical activities. Sitting in one place for a prolong period of time, devoid of physical activities is not good for health. Presently this is a growing concern in the medical field. Physical well-being is connected with psychological well-being. Therefore, if the body is physically unfit, it would affect the mental fitness too. If on one hand ICT is opening new ways to gain online connectivity, on the other hand it is curtailing physical face-to-face connections that are equally important. This paradoxical notion has raised question in terms of social capital, that is how social interaction, communication and connectivity is taking place to build up and maintain social relationships through these two ways- ICT and face-to- face interaction.

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In an developed country like Finland, Internet is used every day in almost every aspect of life. Students get free access to Internet in their educational institutes and also have connections at home. It is a country to give access to Internet for all its citizens a legal right.

This sparsely populated country is a hub for online gaming industry, IT industry and also the Nokia mobile phone company. The cold and dark winter is a hindrance for doing outdoor physical activities. In such a backdrop, it is interesting to find out what the Finnish high- school adolescents of the small municipalities of the North Karelia region feel about the ICT and face-to-face connectivity for gaining and maintaining social-relationships.

In this study, the exploratory method was been selected as the research seeks to explore and gain new insights, discover new ideas and increase knowledge about the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in acquiring social-ties i.e., a type of social capital amongst the Finnish high-school adolescents of the North Karelia region.

Ilomantsi, Nurmes, Kontiolahti and Outokumpu are distant and small regions with less scope for better academic and career opportunities. Regions and distance are important factors in making different choices. In such scenario, it is an endeavor to find out how the ICT is used, and has affected the adolescents of these four regions to gain social ties.

In this study by using random cluster sampling method, the sample was selected. The sample consists of young Finnish adolescents between ages 16-19 of the four high-schools of Kontiolahti, Nurmes, Ilomantsi and Outokumpu municipalities out of the thirteen municipalities of North Karelia region of Finland. The sample size is 255 that makes the total number of respondents (N).

Five more chapters and their sub-chapters follow this introductory chapter. The consecutive chapter gives the conceptual framework of the work. It explains about communication and social capital as conceptualized for this work. The third chapter brings upon the set-up or contexts of the respondents. Herein, the Finnish education system along with the four different areas of North Karelia region where the survey was conducted are discussed. This is done to give the readers an idea about the respondents’ social setup that has effects on both their nature and nurture. It is followed by chapter four that has the methodology used in carrying out this study. Methodology chapter discusses about the problem statement and objectives of the research, gives a detailed account of how and upon whom the research was conducted. It also lays out about the research ethics that was maintained in conducting this study. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) the data was analyzed which is

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stated in chapter five. The chapter gives an account of the population and the statistical result are interpreted. At the end is the conclusion followed by the references and appendices.

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2. THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

We are living in the post-industrial society that is dominated by information, services and high communication technology. Thus the post-industrial society is regarded as the

‘information society’ as information technologies have impacted the society and culture.

Social-relationships are being constructed and maintained through the advanced technologies (ICT) in this information society by the adolescents who are considered as ‘digital natives’.

Adolescent is a transitional stage of development from childhood to adulthood. This period is characterized with dramatic changes in physiological, social, emotional and cognitive aspects. It is in this stage when the self-concept takes its shape (Anuradha 2014). Self- concept refers to the totality of a complex, organized and dynamic system of learned beliefs, attitudes and opinions that each person holds to be true about his or her personal existence.

Parental upbringing, family economic status, parental education etc., influence the development of one’s self-concept (ibid). A child’s life with negative parental upbringing is results in development of negative self-concept. Whereas, a positive parental upbringing will help to develop a positive self-concept among children.

Adolescents experience some period of exploration and experimentation as they search for a unique place in the society (ibid). For this identity search in this hi-tech era, they may intentionally or unintentionally turn to the Internet, social media sites for an understanding of what is socially acceptable. They are socialized digitally more than through the physical beings present around them as they spend more time over the digital world.

This group of young adolescents spend time with digital technologies that form primary mediators for human communications and allows them to stay connected constantly. They have plenty of friends in the social-networking sites- the virtual world- whom they might have not met in the offline or real world. They share photos with friends all over the world and connect through IM or instant messages. It is a common instance to see the adolescents typing messages or playing games in bus stops, train stations or in places wherever they go.

In the course of this relentless connectivity, the very nature of relationships, even what it means to befriend someone, is changing (Palfrey & Gasser 2013). In this hi-tech or digitalized era, adolescents do not just experience friendship differently from their parents but also relate to information differently. Not so long ago, teenagers would go to a friend's house to listen to a new record or do homework together. This signaled a shared intimacy

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between friends that would enable to develop trust, reciprocity and a strong bonding in the relationships. Not everything has changed; teenagers still listen and share lots of music.

However, the experience is far less likely than before to take place in physical space, with friends hanging out together to listen to a stereo system. The network lets them share music that they each, then, can hear through headphones, walking down the street or in their friends’ room. The mixed tape has given way to the media playlist that can be shared with friends and strangers alike through social networks online. A generation has come to expect music to be digitally formatted, often free for the taking, and endlessly shareable and portable (ibid.). Hence physical connectivity has loosened to a considerable extent.

It is an endeavor to find which out of the two ways- online communication through the ICT or face-to-face communications- has an important role to play in creating and maintaining social ties.

2.1 COMMUNICATION

Marc D. Hauser wrote (1997:1), “Nothing would work in the absence of communication…”

It is one of those activities that is intertwined with everyday human life. Every aspect of our daily lives is affected by communication with others.

According to psychotherapist Virginia Satir, communication is the largest single factor determining what kinds of relationships an individual make with others and what happens to each in the world. It is through our communication skills that we manage to survive, connect with our own divinity, develop intimacy with others and productivity of one-self.

In the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology (1996: 109) communication is defined as a process of exchanging messages in a social environment entailing cognitive activity, affective states and behavioral outcomes. This process is one of the elementary components of social behavior that takes place through nonverbal communication, language, social interaction and the mass communicating mediums.

Communication is paradoxically simple yet powerful, as it has not only the process of exchanging information but also the means through which this information is exchanged (Dainton et al 2010). A competent communicator is thus the one who can appropriately use the means or mediums of exchange in the most effective manner.

Thus alongside communication, invention of “communicating mediums” has been a benchmark. The inscriptions, paintings, coins, letters and telegrams were a few modes of

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communication in old times from which we got information about various kingdoms and dynasties, the trade routes, the political connections between countries etc. The invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell was one of the crucial milestones in the modes of communication. The picture below shows the evolution of communicating mediums. Cave paintings, carrier pigeons were mediums in olden times that took time to send the messages.

On the other-hand the telephone, newspaper, radio and television were used for faster and mass-communicating mediums. The ICT using the internet has taken a step ahead to speed up this process in this digitalized society. Sending and receiving e-mails is the most frequent use of the Internet. Finnish high-school adolescent internet users, via e-mail, Instant Messaging or social network platforms communicate not only with their family, friends or colleagues, but also with anonymous people. The Internet is actually a new means of communication and socialization that can supplement face-to-face or telephone contacts.

https://sci10sectionm.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/timeline.jpg Everyday view of communication is synonymous with information. Communication scholars on the other hand, define communication as the process by which people interactively create, sustain and manage meanings (Conrad & Poole 1998). As such, communication both reflects the world and simultaneously helps to create it. Communication is not simply one more thing that happens in personal and professional life; it is the very means by which we produce our personal relationships and professional experiences- it is how we plan, control, manage, persuade, understand, love and so on.

We need to interact with the world around us in order to feel like we exist, so when individuals cannot express themselves, life becomes lonely at best. It can sometimes be very difficult to determine how a person who cannot communicate sees the world.

Communication is indispensable and through it an individual can construct social-ties or social-networks and also maintain them that would eventually bring social well-being.

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Communication has always acted as a tool for conveying information and for expressing to others what has been perceived. There is diversity of communication systems in the natural world. This work deals with the communication system of the human world in building social-ties that forms the core of social capital, discussed more detailed in the following sub- chapter.

2.2 SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ITS TYPES

Social capital is said to have first appeared in Lyda Judson Hanifan’s (1916) discussion of rural school community center, where he used the term to describe ‘those tangible substances that count for most in the daily lives of people’. His concern was the components like good will, fellowship, sympathy and social intercourse that make a social unit. It was in the works of Jane Jacobs (1961) on urban life and neighborliness, Pierre Bourdieu (1986) with regard to social theory and James S. Coleman (1988) on social context of education that brought the idea of social capital into academic arguments. Work of Robert D. Putnam (1993; 2000) accelerated research and discussions on social capital. According to the World Bank ‘Social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society's social interactions. Increasing evidence shows that social cohesion is critical for societies to prosper economically and for development to be sustainable. Social capital is not just the sum of the institutions which underpin a society – it is the glue that holds them together’ (World Bank 2003).

Social capital is an extensive term with varied definitions in multiple fields. Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman and Robert D. Putnam are the three thinkers who are emphasized while talking about social capital. Bourdieu defines social capital as:

Bourdieu’s work on social capital was based on Marxist framework though he did not consider himself a Marxist. According to him, possession of social capital is an attribute of the elite class that is possessed by them due to access to resources and power (economic

“Social capital is an attribute of an individual in a social context. One can acquire social capital through purposeful actions and can transform social capital into conventional economic gains. The ability to do so, however, depends on the nature of the social obligations, connections, and networks available to you.” (Bourdieu 1986, 241-260)

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capital) (ibid). He argued that capital formed the foundation of social life and dictated one’s position within the social order. The more capital one has, the more powerful position one occupies in social life as the individual has access to the dominant class culture (cultural capital) that rules the society and impels class formation and creation of elites. He thus uses social capital as a symbol of social inequality as social capital excludes some individuals.

However, a point to be noted is that social connections do matter for an individual to sustain in society. Important social-ties would enable the adolescents to have educational and job opportunities that are vital for their careers.

Unlike Bourdieu who stated that social capital is an attribute of the elite class, James Coleman (1990) argued that marginalized community members or working class members could also possess social capital. He looked to social capital as part of a wider exploration of the nature of social structures. For him:

Coleman (ibid) argued that different institutions and social structures were better suited to the cultivation of reciprocity, trust and individual action than others. He highlighted the role of family, kinship networks and religious institutions in the creation of social capital.

Coleman’s hypotheses also find some support in empirical studies. Tight-knit families with parents interested and actively involved in their children’s educational development invest in social capital more than single parents or parents who are frequently absent from home and the former children show better educational and developmental cognitive outcomes (McLanahan & Sandefur 1994; Parcel & Menaghan 1994).

Family plays a vital role in the socialization process of an individual as close parent- adolescent relationships, good parenting skills, shared family activities and positive parent role modeling all have positive effects on adolescent health and development. Parents shape the lives of the children from birth through adulthood. As Borkowsky et al. (2002) state, there is continued significance of parents in shaping the behavior and choices of adolescents as they face the challenges of growing up. Families offer emotional and economic (capital) support to the adolescents in times of need. The positive support and trust gained from the

“Social capital is defined by its function. It is not a single entity, but a variety of different entities, having two characteristics in common- they all consist of some aspect of a social structure, and they facilitate certain actions of individuals who are within the structure”. (Coleman 1990, 302)

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parents and family ties helps them to grow a positive attitude towards life and overcome hurdles.

Adolescence is a period when group behavior is apparent, and friendship or peer groups have been seen as valuable social networks through which processes of identity and self-esteem can be negotiated. Peer is a person who is equal to another in abilities, qualifications, age, background, and social status. Thus being a part of a peer group represents an important developmental step. Within these peer groups, social skills are fostered because cooperation and mutuality are practiced, and opinions and attitudes are constructed. Peers influence adolescent’s thoughts, interest and outlook towards any issue and immensely effects the leisure time of the adolescents.

Robert D. Putnam wrote on social capital from a political science background and considered the importance of association and civic community in this regard (Putnam 1993).

His study was initially based upon Italian political institution and later his attention drew towards social capital in United States. In his dominant work- Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000), he discussed social capital as follows:

In his book, Putnam explains that there has been a dramatic decline in the level of group participating activities in the United States over the past forty years. He gives considerable evidences of the downward trend in civic involvement. Individuals go alone for bowling and not in leagues. Voting rates have lowered down. People’s association with clubs have decreased and also participating in the ones associated with have also reduced. Participation in religious organizations, professional organizations or unions have scaled down. People trust their neighbors less. Socializing time has contracted to a considerable amount. Due to all this, he argued, the quality of life and democracy are threatened; effectiveness of the

“Whereas physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to the properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections among individuals- social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. In that sense social capital is closely related to what some have called ‘civic virtue’. The difference is that ‘social capital’ calls attention to the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when embedded in a sense network of reciprocal social relations. A society of many virtuous but isolated individuals is not necessarily rich in social capital”. (Putnam 2000, 19)

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schools have degraded; and the measures or forces that improve collective health and well- being also diminished. He sites television as the main culprit in the decline of all this. He states that, 10 % of homes in America had a television set in 1950s, but by 1959 it increased to 90% which invariably increased the watching time and left less time to socialize. Other factors included, first money (changing roles of women), second greater mobility (reduces local ties), third the shrinking ability of people with busy lives to come together and fourthly generation changes in values and behavior related to civic engagement.

According to Putnam (2000) social capital firstly, resolve collective problems easily.

Secondly, it greases the wheels that allow communities to advance smoothly with everyday activities and businesses as there is mutual trust and repeated interactions. Thirdly, social capital widens our links with others that enable us to test the veracity of our own views. This facilitates flow of information and achievement of individual’s goals that brings improvement and enormous differences in individual’s lives. (ibid, 288-290).

For Putnam, the importance of social capital firstly is crucial for children’s development.

Trust, social-networks, norms of reciprocity within a child’s family, peer-group, school and larger community have extensive effects on their opportunities and choices, educational achievement and hence on their behavior (ibid, 296-306). Secondly, in areas having high social capital, public spaces are cleaner, people are friendlier and the streets are safer. Places have higher crime rates because people do not participate in community organizations, do not supervise younger people and are not linked through networks of friends (ibid, 307-318).

Thirdly, social capital can help in abating the effects of socio-economic disadvantages (ibid, 319-325). Where trust and social-networks flourish, there individuals, firms, neighborhoods and even the nation economically prospers. Fourthly, there is a strong relationship between the possession of social capital and better health. Social-networks helps to stay healthy.

Regular club attendance, volunteering, entertaining, or church attendance is the happiness equivalent of getting a college degree or more than doubling your income (ibid: 333). All these important aspects facilitate cooperation within and among groups that further boosts mutual trust and reciprocity in the social-ties. Trust and honesty are the two variables that the high school adolescent respondents of this work have over and over again expected from their families and friends. This is so, as trust is an integral part of social capital. It has a vital role to play in the relationships that we build. The relationships, communities, cooperation and mutual commitment that characterize social capital could not exist without the foundation of trust. Adolescent period is a phase when there are lot of physical and

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psychological changes taking place. In such a time trust in relationships with families and friends are very crucial.

Social capital is the building of healthy communities through collective, mutually beneficial interactions and accomplishments, particularly those demonstrated through civic participation. (Baum et al in Winter, 2000).

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD 2001) defines social capital as, “networks, together with shared norms, values and understandings which facilitate cooperation within or among groups”. It identifies that social capital is relational rather than the property of any one individual and it is produced by societal investments. Social capital is the outcome of historical, cultural and social factors that give rise to norms, values and social relations that bring people together in networks or associations resulting to collective action. Social capital increases if the networks, norms and values are reinforced and decreases if not used.

It is clear that social capital is both an individual and community good as through the social relations created, it benefits both the creator and the bystander. Its benefits are available to all members of the community.

From the various definitions it is understood that social capital is a multi-dimensional concept with relationships, trust and reciprocity as essential aspects. Relationships can be further divided into three types as described by Woolcock (2000): bonding, bridging and linking. Bonding (social capital) relationships are the ties that an individual share with people in similar situations, who are alike, such as the immediate family members, close friends, or ethnic group members. Bridging (social capital) relationships encompasses distant ties with individuals who are different than us, share loose friendships, are from different socio-economic status, and are just workmates, from a different generation or ethnicity.

Linking (social capital) relationships are the ties that an individual has with those in power.

It reaches out to unlike people in dissimilar situations like to those who are entirely outside of one’s community. This helps members to leverage a far wider range of resources than are available in the immediate community radius. All these three types of social capital- bonding, bridging and linking- ideally are balanced together in a community for best results otherwise there might be social disintegration.

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Putnam looked upon whether social capital is bonding (or exclusive) or bridging (or inclusive). He suggested that the former might have a tendency to boost intimate identities and homogenous groups, as it is inward looking. Whereas, the consequent may encompass people across different social divides, as it is outward looking. He did not talk about the linking social capital nor did he come up with the implications of different forms of social capital.

Bonding social capital or relationships shared with family have effect on adolescents’ well- being. It has been repeatedly found in the responses of the Finnish high school adolescent respondents of the survey that they expect close bonding, trust and fond memories from their families that effect them positively. Close relationships, healthy open communication, and perceived parental support are especially important during adolescence, as children experience many physical and emotional changes. Teens who have positive relationships with their parents are less likely to engage in various risk behaviors, including smoking, fighting, and drinking (Resnick et al. 2004). They are also less likely to report symptoms of depression and more likely to report high levels of perceived well-being. Adolescents who report difficulty talking with their parents are more likely to drink alcohol frequently, have problems with binge drinking, smoke, and feel unhappy, especially girls (ibid.).

2.3 SOCIAL CAPITAL, RELATIONSHIPS, WELL-BEING AND INTERNET USE

This section elucidates about the interconnection between social capital, social-relationships, well-being and ICT or hi-tech gadgets using the internet, based upon the communication and social capital theories. It explains how reciprocity and trust is the base of a strong relationship (the crux of social capital) and affect individuals’ social and psychological well- being. It points out how the use of ICT or the hi-tech communication gadgets that use internet are associated in constructing these social- relationships or ties.

Bonding capital is good for under-girding specific reciprocity and mobilizing solidarity… Bridging networks, by contrast, are better for linkage to external assets and for information diffusion… Moreover, bridging social capital can generate broader identities and reciprocity, whereas bonding social capital bolsters our narrower selves… Bonding social capital constitutes a kind of sociological superglue, whereas bridging social capital provides a sociological WD-40. (Putnam 2000, 22-23)

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As Lin (1999) proclaims, relationships help to generate social capital. It is an important component of psychosocial development for emerging adults (Sullivan, 1953). For the young adolescent population, social-networking sites (such as Facebook) and different messenger applications in the advanced technological gadgets using the internet, play a vital role in maintaining relationships that would otherwise be lost as many of these individuals move from the geographically bounded networks of their hometown for varied purposes. There is also growing evidence that internet use maybe associated with an individual’s sense of self- worth and other measures of psychosocial development, although the positive or negative contributions of internet use to psychological wellbeing are highly debated (Kraut et al.

1998).

2.3.1 RELATIONSHIPS, TRUST AND SOCIAL CAPITAL

Social capital refers to the benefits that we receive from our social relationships (Lin 1999).

It can be conceived in negative terms when non-group members are excluded from having access to the same benefits as members (Bourdieu & Wacquant 1992; Helliwell & Putnam 2004), but is generally perceived to be positive (Adler & Kwon 2002). It has been linked to such diverse outcomes as career advancement (Burt 1997), organizational success (Nahapiet

& Ghoshal 1998), and many other positive social outcomes such as better public health and lower crime rates (Adler & Kwon 2002).

For the accumulation of social capital, it is a necessary pre-requisite to harness the ability to form and maintain relationships. Coleman (1988) describes social capital as accumulated resources through the relationships among people. Lin (1999 30) enhances this notion by emphasizing the importance of developing a social network, considering social capital to arise from “investments in social relations with expected returns” and suggests that benefits arise from the greater “access to and use of resources embedded in social networks”.

Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992, 14) define social capital as “the sum of resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition”. Hence much attention is given to the relationships that is the fundamental base for social capital.

The importance of trust is an integral part of social capital. Trust can be described as ‘a voluntary transfer of a good or favor to someone else, with future reciprocation expected but not guaranteed’ (Gunnthorsdottir, McCabe & Smith 2002, 50). Trust behavior not only consists of trusting others but also entails trustworthiness; that is whether a person will repay

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(instead of betray) the person who trusted her. Without trust social and economic interactions would be virtually impossible. It has a vital role to play in the relationships that we build.

The relationships, communities, cooperation and mutual commitment that characterize social capital could not exist without the foundation of trust. Trust involves risk taking, where both parties know that the actions of one party can materially affect the other. The sociological literature conceptualizes trust as either the property of individuals, social relationships or the social system with disproportionate attention to behavior based on actions at the individual level (Misztal 1996). Coleman (1988) contends that a system of mutual trust is an important form of social capital on which future obligations and expectations may be based. He argues that a closed social network (the existence of strongly interconnected and mutually reinforcing relations between different actors and institutions) maintains the existence of effective norms and the trustworthiness of others, hence strengthening social capital. Putnam (1993) regards trust as a source of social capital that sustains economic dynamism and governmental performance. Fukuyama also gives importance to the concept of trust while talking about social capital. He defines, social capital as a capability that arises from the prevalence of trust in a society or in certain parts of it (Fukuyama, 1995). Francois (2003) argues that trustworthiness is the economically relevant component of a society’s culture and hence comprises its social capital. For these scholars, trust is a pre-requisite condition for healthy social capital.

The adolescence period is a transitory phase of life that undergoes confusion as the teens’

starts challenging everything and anything that comes on their way. They start developing the ability to question and reason out with formerly innocuous commands given to them.

Hence to deal with these changes, parents or caregivers also have to provide information, explanation and justification for the work they ask to do and this would in return help the parents to gain respect and good rapport with the teenagers.

Adolescents begin experiencing losses and hurts as they expand their friendship circle, find emotional connections to others and encounter people who may not be very kind. They need to trust that the parents will offer a comforting, protective place where they feel valued. The respondents of this work (Finnish high-school students of North Karelia) have mostly accounted with answers like ‘trust’ and ‘honesty’ when asked what they expect from their families and friends.

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Peer relationships also play important role in adolescent period and it influences the individual. Peer relationships provide a context not only for the acquisition and for maintenance of friendships and friendship networks but also for the development of key social skills, social problem solving skills, and empathy. In order for an adolescent to grow up to a responsible adult, she/he needs to be able to handle a give and take relationship that is reciprocity another vital ingredient of social capital as discussed by Putnam (2000). This reciprocal relationship grows amongst the peer groups. The adolescent learns to consider another person’s perspective, use effective communication skills, listen, observe body language, compromise, negotiate, and effectively balance the needs of her/himself and another person. Sometimes, as adolescents learn and develop these skills, they need feedback to monitor and adjust their behavior. Peers give some of the most effective and clear feedback. Peers or friends are influential as the teenagers find similarities within their age group. Habits grow seeing other friends doing the same and this sets a trend.

Family structure; quality of parent‐child relations; adult’s interest in child; parental monitoring; and, extended family exchange and support build up the trust and reciprocity inside the family thus enhancing family-ties, which has its impact on other social-ties as family, is the first society for an individual. In this work, the respondents have stated that they expect trust, honesty, some quality time spent with their family members. These family ties would teach the individuals to create strong social-ties outside home as that is what they will have learnt from their families and this would in long run build a strong community and society with mutual trust and reciprocity.

2.3.2 SOCIAL CAPITAL AND WELL-BEING

The characteristic of personal relationships are important for individual well-being. The composition and size of people’s networks, or their satisfaction level with their relationships- relatives and friends (bonding/strong ties), colleagues or neighbors (bridging/weak ties) - are all determinants for social and psychological well-being. Social capital provides social- networks and links to the individuals and communities which are utilized for positive contribution in times of difficulties. Individuals can co-operatively work together in crisis period and overcome it if there is mutual trust and reciprocity. Cox (2000) believes that the strengths of social capital come into play when communities have to deal with conflict, problems or change. A community with high accumulations of social capital will be able to manage difficulties while one with low levels will manage less well.

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Social capital researchers have found that various forms of social capital, including ties with friends and neighbors are related to indices of psychological well-being such as self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Bargh, McKenna & Fitzsimons 2002; Helliwell & Putnam 2004).

As stated by Helliwell and Putnam (2004, 1435-1446):

As Morrow (1999) found, despite a lack of consistent definition and measurement, from preceding works it is witnessed that young people with more social capital are more likely to engage in behaviors that lead to better health, academic success and emotional development.

In medical sociology, Wadsworth (1996) proposes about health capital that is the health legacy of early development, from pre-natal development in mother’s womb to postnatal care, and early years of the child’s life that are all dependent on the social and physical environment. Wadsworth notes:

‘Our new evidence confirms that social capital is strongly linked to subjective well-being through many independent channels and in several different forms. Marriage and family, ties to friends and neighbors, workplace ties, civic engagement (both individually and collectively), trustworthiness and trust: all appear independently and robustly related to happiness and life satisfaction, both directly and through their impact on health. People who have close friends and confidants, friendly neighbors and supportive co-workers are less likely to experience sadness, loneliness, low self-esteem and problems with eating and sleeping… Subjective well-being is best predicted by the breadth and depth of one’s social connections.’ (Helliwell and Putnam 2004, 1435-1446)

‘High levels of unemployment and relative poverty have a damaging effect on mental and physical health of adults and are also likely to affect the health and social capital of a new generation of children(…) This is similar to Bourdieu’s notion of habitus. It has impact on the physical well-being of an individual as there is deprivation of family ties, social networks and a sense of belonging to a civic identity which are pillars of strength for an individual.’ (Wadsworth 1996, 152- 170)

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It is thus not only the nature of health behaviors, but also the contexts in which they take place-where, when and with whom- is important to be analyzed, as the relationship between structure and agency have positive and negative consequences on individual’s health behavior. Thus social capital is been linked to the psychological, social and physical well- being of people. The better connections the respondents have with their families and friends in schools, activity groups or in hobby-clubs, would enable their socio-psychological and physical well-being as these ties in this adolescence age gives psychological support, and different activities keep them physically fit.

2.3.3 SOCIAL CAPITAL, ICT AND INTERNET USE

Social-interaction, communication or exchanging information are crucial to social capital and its accumulation. The advanced Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and the internet plays a pivotal role and are producing new forms for social-interaction and communication process.

Putnam (2000) did not say much about internet. He stated that it was early to say whether dot-community spirit could replace the old-fashioned kind. He claims that one cannot make friends using the telephone but can use it to maintain friendships. As Putnam (ibid, 169) quotes Daniel Boorstin (1974), who writes that telephones permit “Americans to do more casually and with less effort what they had already been doing before”, which suggests that phone calls are a plausible substitute for club meetings.

With the advancement of the ICT devices, the internet plays the main mode of communication and socialization in today’s era that supplements face-to-face meetings. This change is noticed as there is a new generation of user-friendly, handheld wireless devices that provide ‘always-on’ access to email, telephone, real-time payments and other multimedia services. There are advances in micro-chip technology affording far greater processing power and data storage capacity and in turn enabling the increased embedding of ICT into machines and smart devices (e.g-onboard computers in motor vehicles). As the web service technologies are designed in a manner that can connect the ICT systems of multiple enterprises or industries, they therefore deliver more efficient and user-friendly coordinated services to consumers and citizens. Now high-capacity broadband links support web services, content-rich and interactive services for entertainment, e-commerce, research, and collaborative work environments.

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These technological changes create social affordances as the internet is not a one- dimensional, static technology rather it merges several media into one medium that create possibilities and influence our everyday lives (Castells 1998). Broadband communication facilitates the rapid exchange of large amounts of data, instant messaging, feedback, attached text, picture, voice, and telepresence. Individuals are always connected with others through the broadband internet services and wireless portable devices that can be carried along on the go, thus making communication an everywhere-nowhere phenomenon. It is facilitating the small world phenomenon, where everyone throughout the globe is connected through the web and this thus decreases technological apartheid. This computer mediated communication is tailored-personalized- that enables us to communicate with the people we want to communicate to (ibid).

Advanced information and communication technological gadgets like smartphones, tablets, and laptops with their applications (e.g. messengers) are clearly important means of communication that do facilitate social changes (see Rheingold 2002). However, of particular importance is the potential of high capacity broadband or internet service to increase online interactivity and subsequently its capacity to build social capital. Internet users via email, IM or instant messaging and SNS or social network sites facilitate communication not only with friends, families or colleagues but also with anonymous people.

Internet use might be related to social and psychological well-being with mixed results (Kraut et al. 1998; Kraut et al. 2002; McKenna & Bargh 2004; Nie 2001; Shaw & Gant 2002; Valkenburg & Peter 2007). Kraut et al. (1998) found that heavier internet use was associated with various measures of loneliness, depression and stress. They argue that this was because weaker ties generated online were replacing stronger offline ties with family and friends. Internet may isolate individuals and reduce the time spent participating in social activities, especially if internet users are mainly engaged in solitary usage (web-surfing, news reading, etc.). For example, Paul Attewell, Belkis Suazo-Garcia and Juan Battle (2003) showed that adolescents with a home computer spend less time practicing sports or playing outside. Moreover, virtual sociability is not really equivalent to traditional sociability: face- to-face interactions are typically richer than virtual interactions by e-mail, chat or instant messaging.

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In a follow-up study, Kraut et al. (2002) found that when examined over a longer period of time, internet use was no longer associated with decreased communication and involvement with family and the associated measures of loneliness and depression. Rather the results were generally positive. They found that the measures of introversion and extraversion moderated the outcomes from internet use, with extraverts more likely to experience benefits from their internet use than introverts. Other researchers also argue that internet use has positive impacts on psychological and social well-being (Bargh & McKenna, 2004; Shaw &

Gant, 2002). Bargh and McKenna (2004) stated that increased online interactions mitigates any loss in communication with others due to time spent online. In an experiment Shaw and Gant (2002) found decreases in perceived loneliness and depression as well as increases in perceived social support and self-esteem following engagement in online chat sessions. In related research, Valkenburg and Peter (2007) found that socially anxious adolescents perceived the internet to be more valuable for intimate self-disclosure than non-socially anxious respondents, leading to an increase in online communication.

Valkenburg et al. (2006) found that the more people used Social Network Sites (SNS), the greater the frequency of interaction with friends, which had positive benefits on respondents’

self-esteem, building social capital and ultimately their reported satisfaction with life.

Resnick (2001) suggest that new forms of social capital and relationship building occurs in SNSs due to the way that technologies like distribution lists, photo directories and search capabilities support online linkages with others. Donath and Boyd (2004) hypothesized that SNSs could increase the number of weak ties. It would be easier to maintain these ties because their affordances are cheap and easy in particular. Bridging social capital might be reinforced by SNSs like Friendster or Facebook because they enable users to create and maintain larger, diffuse networks of relationships from which they could potentially draw resources.

Substantial researches show that relationships are important elements in social development for young adults or adolescents. This is also a time when maintenance of relationships are interrupted as adolescents move to different locations for entering college, moving between residences, graduating and entering professional workforce (Cummings, Lee & Kraut 2006).

These individuals have essential and urgent demand to be able to maintain connections with their previously inhabited networks alongside being open to new experiences and relationships in their current geographical context. Hence internet based Social Networking

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Sites (SNS) play a crucial role in the maintenance of relationships in different geographical settings among the adolescent group of users.

Wellman and his co-authors (2002) have indicated three principal ways for broadly conceptualizing the impact of the internet on social capital. According to them firstly, the internet diminishes social capital as it draws people away from family and friends. As global communication and involvement increases interest in local community and politics decreases. Secondly, the internet supplements social capital as it ‘blends into people’s lives.

It is another means of communication to facilitate existing social relationships and follows patterns of civic engagement and socialization (ibid). People use electronic mediums to supplement their usual telephone and face-to-face contact. Thirdly, the internet transforms social capital by providing means for inexpensive and convenient communication with far- flung communities of shared interest (ibid). Its ubiquitous accessibility and flexibility leads to a major transformation in social contact and civic involvement away from local and group-based solidarities and towards more spatially-dispersed and sparsely-knit interest based social networks (ibid). The core idea of this study is simple: social networks as the crux of social capital have value which can be embedded in bonds among families, friends and neighbors, in the workplaces, at religious places, in civic associations, perhaps even in internet-based virtual communities for the adolescents. They spend most of their time with their friends in schools and over the social sites or through the use of ICTs when they are not physically together. While moving out from their old locality, adolescents lose touch with their old friends with whom they shared most of their childhood period. This is the point when they use the ICT to keep contact with their pals and families. Friendship with new people occur in the new setting as friends form an integral part of adolescent period as discussed a while ago.

Based upon the theories, the next section will elucidate the terms used for the research.

2.4 DESCRIPTION OF TERMINOLOGIES USED 2.4.1 COMMUNITY

Community in a traditional understanding, is socially interactive space inhabited by a close network of households, most of whom are known to one another and who, to a high degree, participate in common social activities, exchange information, engage in mutual aid and support and are conscious of a common identity, a belonging together (Cater & Jones 1989;

169). The term is used to describe social relationships of all sizes and complexities, from

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some of the smallest and locally based to the widest possible global networks. It can be seen as a place or locality where people have something in common. It can also be understood as people sharing a common characteristic other than place. They are linked together by factors such as religious belief, sexual orientation, occupation or ethnic origin. For example, cyber- communities, religious communities, alumni communities etc.

Delanty (2003) states a newer understanding of this topic, ‘communication communities’

that has emerged from individualization, globalization and advancement in information and communication technologies. They depend upon the power of communication to produce new forms of social bonding and belonging where individuals have overlapping and multiple bonds to different communities. These are organized through sets of social relations that are

“[o]rganized more like a network” in such a way that “community today is abstract and lacks visibility and unity... more an imagined condition than a symbolically shaped reality based on fixed reference points” (ibid; 188) such as neighborhood, class or family. Communicative communities transcend geography and place. For example the Virtual communities, cyber- communities or communities that are formed in the social networking sites.

Hence, community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. It is a self-organized network of people with common agenda, cause and interest who co-operate by sharing ideas, information and other resources. Virtual or cyber-communities consist of participants in online discussions on topics of mutual concern.

2.4.2 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

ICT stands for Information Communications Technology. According to Blurton (1999), ICT is the diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage information. These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television) and telephone.

ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications, thus its prime focus being communication technologies. It is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: Internet, wireless networks, radio, television, cellular and smartphones, computer, laptops, tablets and other communication mediums; as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. It refers to all the technology used to handle

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telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audiovisual processing and transmission systems, and network-based control and monitoring functions.

In the past few decades, information and communication technologies have provided society with a vast array of new communication capabilities. People can communicate in real-time with others in different countries using technologies such as instant-messaging, internet voice calls through VoIP services, and video-conferencing through Skype and other applications. Social Networking Sites like the most popular Facebook and others allow users from all over the world to remain in contact and communicate on a regular basis.

2.4.3 NETWORKS

Networks are a central feature of contemporary globalized society. As far as social-scientific literature is concerned, networks have been seen as sets of interconnected nodes within a broader system or structure of social relationships. It is a way of mapping how social structures work, linking patterns in interpersonal behavior to the operation of broader social relationships. In this sense, kinship and friendship circles in the classroom are linked with micro-level activity of institutions, or in the community neighborhood is linked to the more macro-level activity of institutions.

Process of globalization, associated with the new information and communications technology have for Castells (2003) created a new “network society”, featuring networked enterprises, a network state and a distinct and dominant network logic. In this regard, flows of capital, information, organizational interaction, images and sounds all occur through the hubs and nodes of virtual networks provided through ICT (Internet or web) applications. For him, the centrality of virtual networks extends to politics, which is increasingly conducted through electronic media and to culture, where the new technology encourages networked individualism.

Networks are enduring and beneficiary connection that accelerates success in the contemporary globalized society. Relationships or social-ties that grow out of networks enables an individual or organization to stand out, rise above and remain at the top. Thus, one must keep on cultivating relationships and influence one’s network.

2.4.4 SOCIAL NETWORK SITES (SNS)

A social networking site may also be known as a social website or a social networking website. Social network sites (SNSs) are “web-based services that allow individuals to (1)

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construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” (Boyd & Ellison 2007; 211).

Social networking sites are web-based, online platform that allows users to create a public profile and interact with other users. Social networking websites usually have a new user input a list of people with whom they share a connection and then allow the people on the list to confirm or deny the connection. After connections are established, the new user can search the networks of her/his connections to make more connections. These sites provide means for users to interact through instant messaging and e-mails. They incorporate new information and communication technology tools such as mobile connectivity, photo or video sharing and blogging through smartphones, laptops, and tablets.

Social network sites such as Friendster, CyWorld, and MySpace allow individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others (Ellison et al. 2007, 1143). These sites are directed towards work-related contexts, romantic relationship initiation, connecting with those who share similar interests. SNSs assist in maintain existing social ties and forming new connections. The first social network site was launched in 1997 and currently there are hundreds of SNSs across the globe, supporting a spectrum of users (Boyd & Ellison 2007) amongst them Facebook created in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg is much popular.

2.4.5 TRUST

Trust refers to a person’s confident belief that another’s motivations are benevolent toward her/him and that the other person will therefore be responsive to her/his needs (Simpson 2007). Trust is typically viewed as a belief about a specific person, though it has also been viewed as a personality trait characterizing people’s tendency to trust or distrust others in general.

Development of trust in a relationship is usually a gradual process that requires social interactions with a person. The amount of trust that develops in a relationship is crucial because it regulates the extent to which people allow themselves to be committed to and invest in that relationship. People will only take the risk of caring and becoming attached to someone they believe reciprocates their affections. Trust in another person is determined by qualities of one’s relationship and how secure one feels in a relationship. However, social norms within families and communities also influence feelings of security.

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