Internet Technology and Social Capital:How the Internet Affects Seniors’ Social Capital and Wellbeing

Sum, Shima; Mathews, Mark; Pourghasem, Mohsen; Hughes, Ian

doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2008.01437.x

Cited by 130 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The majority of past research on Internet and well-being has focused on children [7], adolescents [24][25][26], college students [15], older people [5,27,28], and comparisons between younger and older populations [29]. To date, few studies have looked at 'ordinary' community dwellers or relied on probability sampling techniques in their selection of participants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

Boniwell¹,

Osin

Renton³

2015

TOPSYJ

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Purpose:The existing studies of the association between Internet usage and well-being have produced contradictory results. This study explores the associations between Internet access at home and well-being, as well as other lifestyle variables. Design/methodology/approach: The study was done in a probability sample of 800 community-dwelling adults aged 16 and over in six most deprived areas of the Redbridge borough of London. Using face-to-face interviews, information on the demographics, lifestyle, Internet access at home, happiness, trait hope, and subjective health was obtained. Path analysis and structural equation modelling were used to investigate the associations between Internet access and well-being, controlling for demographic variables. Findings: Respondents with home Internet access had stronger social ties with friends and relatives, engaged in a wider repertoire of community creative activities and cultural events, and reported having higher social support. Controlling for demographic variables, Internet access at home was a weak but statistically significant predictor of happiness, agency, and absence of mental health problems. The effect of home Internet access on happiness was partially mediated by social ties. Research limitations/implications: The correlational nature of the study forbids making causal inferences. The data suggest that people with low socioeconomic status may derive wellbeing benefits from having access to information technology which can serve as an instrument for social integration. Originality/value: The data provide a demographic snapshot of the digital divide in one of the most deprived areas of London.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

Boniwell¹,

Osin

Renton³

2015

TOPSYJ

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“…All these researches suggest that although adolescents and young adults make up the majority of online social networkers, older populations are increasingly using sites such as Facebook and Twitter (Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2010;Sum, Mathews, Pourghasem, and Hughes, 2008). Ostensibly, the fastest-growing group of the Internet and SNS users is people over 50 years and, as Lovett (2011) predicts, the number of older SNS users may grow significantly in the subsequent years.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult Users’ Engagement and Utilisation of Social Networks Sites in Nigeria

Ciboh

2015

Studies in Media and Communication

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Most studies on social media use in Nigeria focus on youths and address issues such as internet accessibility; frequency and extent of social networking sites use; political attitudes and online political participation; academic uses and news consumption, and the addiction to this form of media. Whilst youths are avid users, studies indicate that popularity of social media continues to grow among older adults of 65+ years with multiple use rates. Hence this research describes the specific communication-based activities that occur on these sites among adults in Nigeria. To understand how older people use social network sites and what benefits they derive from them, purposeful sampling was undertaken of older adults living in the metropolitan Makurdi, capital of Benue State. The paper finds older Nigerians' communication on SNS disposed to bonding social capital as interactions skew towards family members, close friends and colleagues. And although only about three in ten adults' communication tends towards making new friends on social media, the paper concludes nonetheless that adult Nigerians' social interactions on SNS may yet have positive correlation with bridging social capital and its potential resources.

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“…Nowadays, social capital theory has been widely employed in social science studies. The multidimensional concept of social capital has been used to explain a broadening range of topics such as civic participation (Shklovski, Kraut, & Rainie, 2004), public health (Norstrand & Xu, 2011;Sum, Mathews, Pourghasem, & Hughes, 2008), and youth behavior problems (Valenzuela, Park, & Kee, 2009). Coleman (1988) described social capital as the accumulation of interpersonal relationships and a concept paralleling financial capital, physical capital, and human capital.…”

Section: Defining Social Capitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do Different Internet Use Functions Affect Bridging and Bonding Social Capital? An Empirical Study of the Chinese International Students in Japan

Guo

Ito

2014

ijcse

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This study examines the relationship between Internet use and social capital in an intercultural context and investigates how different Internet use functions are related to social capital. Data were collected from the survey among 155 Chinese international students studying in Japan's universities. The results showed that Internet use intensity negatively influenced individuals' bonding social capital. It was also found that the use of the Internet for staying informed would have positive effects on bridging social capital. However, no significant relationship was found between using the Internet for interacting with others and the two types of social capital. These findings fill the gaps in existing studies on Internet effectiveness and help to provide knowledge about the influences of various Internet use functions on establishing and maintaining social ties.

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Internet Technology and Social Capital:How the Internet Affects Seniors’ Social Capital and Wellbeing

Cited by 130 publications

References 38 publications

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

Adult Users’ Engagement and Utilisation of Social Networks Sites in Nigeria

How Do Different Internet Use Functions Affect Bridging and Bonding Social Capital? An Empirical Study of the Chinese International Students in Japan

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