African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites

Smith, Danielle Taana

doi:10.3390/fi5010056

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The interactions observed in this study largely contradict previous SDH findings (Gonzales, 2015;Mesch, 2007;2011, 2017Mesch & Talmud, 2010;Smith, 2013). Contrary to the SDH (Mesch, 2007(Mesch, , 2011(Mesch, , 2017, use of the Internet and Internet plus SNSs on the whole did not help expand the networks of disadvantaged groups, but rather were associated with greater levels of inequality.…”

Section: Network Inequality and Internet Usecontrasting

confidence: 97%

“…What these findings might also indicate is that although disadvantaged groups are motivated to use the Internet to expand their networks, they are not actually achieving their goal. One reason for the discrepancy between the results of this study and previous research could be that much of the prior SDH research relied on self-report measures of motivations for use and did not directly capture the implications of Internet use for the composition of social networks (Mesch, 2007;2011, 2017Mesch & Talmud, 2010;Smith, 2013). It could also be that the SDH is confined more narrowly to specific ethnic minority populations rather than racial minorities or other disadvantaged populations-despite some evidence to the contrary (Gonzales, 2015;Mesch, 2017).…”

Section: Network Inequality and Internet Usecontrasting

confidence: 68%

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Inequality, Social Networks, and Internet Use: Exploring the Implications of the Social Diversification Hypothesis

Tsetsi

Rains

2020

hct

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The social diversification hypothesis (SDH) suggests that in multicultural societies Internet use can help mitigate structural inequalities in access to social resources. Whereas traditionally disadvantaged groups are predicted to use the Internet to expand and diversify their social networks, advantaged groups use it to maintain existing connections. The present study investigates this central prediction of the SDH by examining the relationship between Internet and social network site (SNS) use and inequalities in network size and diversity based on race, sex, and education among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The results largely contradict the SDH. Internet and SNS use were associated with greater networked-based inequalities stemming from education. The relationships between education and indicators of network size and diversity were stronger among Internet users than non-users and stronger among SNSs users than Internet-only users. Network inequalities directly related to race, sex, and education were also explored.

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Section: Network Inequality and Internet Usecontrasting

confidence: 97%

Section: Network Inequality and Internet Usecontrasting

confidence: 68%

Inequality, Social Networks, and Internet Use: Exploring the Implications of the Social Diversification Hypothesis

Tsetsi

Rains

2020

hct

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“…Third, most SDH research has examined marginalized and advantaged groups in Israel. One exception is a single U.S. study that has found that African Americans are more likely than Whites to use the Internet to promote work or meet new business contacts (D. T. Smith, 2013). Again, however, that study uses retrospective rather than real-time measures; thus, this study lends additional credibility to the predictive power of the SDH cross-culturally.…”

Section: The Importance Of Bridging Ties For Reducing Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 83%

Disadvantaged Minorities’ Use of the Internet to Expand Their Social Networks

Gonzales

2015

Communication Research

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An essential argument of the social diversification hypothesis is that disadvantaged groups use the Internet rather than face-to-face communication to broaden social networks, whereas advantaged groups use the Internet to reinforce existing network ties. Previous research in this area has not accounted for both online and off-line communication, has only been examined with cross-sectional data, and has primarily been studied in Israel. To address these gaps with a U.S. data set, 2,669 conversations were analyzed over 6-day periods using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Indeed, unlike participants from racially or educationally advantaged groups, participants who were from a racially marginalized group or lacked college training were more likely to broaden social networks online rather than face-to-face with interracial and weak tie exchanges. This proof of concept of social diversification theory across cultures is the first to use real-time, within-person measures of both race and tie strength.

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“…Danielle Smith's [9] article "African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites", shows how African American with less social capital than whites in the physical environment use ICTs to redress this imbalance. Smith's article illustrates a means through which the unique properties of the digital environment can be leveraged to overcome trenchant historical inequalities.…”

Section: • the Ability Of Social Institutions To Perform Their Histormentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Special Issue on Inequality in the Digital Environment

Graham

2013

Future Internet

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Abstract:The purpose of this special issue is to explore social inequalities in the digital environment. The motivation for this issue is derived from the disproportionate focus on technological and economic aspects of the Information Society to the detriment of sociological and cultural aspects. The research presented here falls along three dimensions of inequality. Two papers explore the ways that race orders interaction online. A second pair of papers explores the experiences of technology users with physical and mental disabilities. A final paper looks at gender, and the higher rates of intimate partner violence experienced by women online. Taken as a whole, these five papers highlight some of the ways that the digital environment can reproduce or mitigate inequalities that have been molded and routinized in the physical environment.

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African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites

Cited by 11 publications

References 30 publications

Inequality, Social Networks, and Internet Use: Exploring the Implications of the Social Diversification Hypothesis

Inequality, Social Networks, and Internet Use: Exploring the Implications of the Social Diversification Hypothesis

Disadvantaged Minorities’ Use of the Internet to Expand Their Social Networks

Introduction to the Special Issue on Inequality in the Digital Environment

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