The Relationship between Involvement in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies and Family Social Capital

Abstract

The study goal was to empirically test the direct and indirect effects of involvement in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and family social capital. To test these effects, we interviewed 104 families (parents and adolescents, n = 208). The direct effect test showed that the involvement in ICT use is a significant predictor of family social capital. At the same time, there is an inverse relationship: the higher the level of involvement of family members in ICT use, the lower the level of family social capital and all its components, especially trust. This means that the more adolescents and their parents are involved in ICT use (Internet, tablets, phones and other gadgets), the less they trust each other, pay attention to needs and mutual support, and the relationship becomes more distant and formal. As we can see, the primary results obtained using the construct of “family social capital” confirm the “displacement hypothesis”, according to which involvement in ICT use reduces the time for contacts between family members and they “displace” direct interaction, making it formal. The indirect effect test showed that the involvement in ICT use is a significant mediator of the relationship between family social capital and subjective wellbeing. In this case, involvement in ICT use acts as a coping strategy if individuals are not satisfied with their relationships with relatives. The results obtained confirm the “social compensation hypothesis”.