Cultivating Social Resources on Social Network Sites: Facebook Relationship Maintenance Behaviors and Their Role in Social Capital Processes

2014/03/19 by Nicole B. Ellison, Jessica Vitak, Rebecca Gray +1 · 698 citations
Social Sciences · #Impact of Technology on Adolescents #Knowledge Management and Sharing #Social Media and Politics

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/jcc4.12078

published in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 19(4), 855-870 (Oxford University Press (OUP))

crossref issued 2014/03/19 · crossref published 2014/03/19 · crossref published-online 2014/03/19 · openalex publication_date 2014/03/19 · crossref created 2014/03/19 · crossref published-print 2014/07/01 · crossref deposited 2024/05/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04 · crossref indexed 2026/08/04

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between perceived bridging social capital and specific Facebook-enabled communication behaviors using survey data from a sample of U.S. adults (N=614). We explore the role of a specific set of Facebook behaviors that support relationship maintenance and assess the extent to which demographic variables, time on site, total and “actual” Facebook Friends, and this new measure (Facebook Relationship Maintenance Behaviors) predict bridging social capital. Drawing upon scholarship on social capital and relationship maintenance, we discuss the role of social grooming and attention-signaling activities in shaping perceived access to resources in one's network as measured by bridging social capital.

Citations

• Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis
• Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction
• The Strength of Weak Ties
• On and Off the 'Net: Scales for Social Capital in an Online Era
• Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks
• Computer-Mediated Communication
• Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital

Cited by

• Diffusion of disinformation: How social media users respond to fake news and why
• Situational dependence of internal communication channels
• Jessica Vitak [wikipedia]

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