Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
The Benefits of Facebook ‘‘Friends:’’ Social
Capital and College Students’ Use of
Online Social Network Sites
Nicole B. Ellison
Charles Steinfield
Cliff Lampe
Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media
Michigan State University
This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, a popular online social
network site, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. In addition to
assessing bonding and bridging social capital, we explore a dimension of social capital
that assesses one’s ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited
community, which we call maintained social capital. Regression analyses conducted on
results from a survey of undergraduate students (N = 286) suggest a strong association
between use of Facebook and the three types of social capital, with the strongest rela-
tionship being to bridging social capital. In addition, Facebook usage was found to
interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide
greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.
doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x
Introduction
Social network sites (SNSs) such as such as Friendster, CyWorld, and MySpace allow
individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or
maintain connections with others. These sites can be oriented towards work-related
contexts (e.g., LinkedIn.com), romantic relationship initiation (the original goal of
Friendster.com), connecting those with shared interests such as music or politics
(e.g., MySpace.com), or the college student population (the original incarnation of
Facebook.com). Participants may use the sites to interact with people they already
know offline or to meet new people. The online social network application analyzed
in this article, Facebook, enables its users to present themselves in an online profile,
accumulate ‘‘friends’’ who can post comments on each other’s pages, and view each
other’s profiles. Facebook members can also join virtual groups based on common
interests, see what classes they have in common, and learn each others’ hobbies,
interests, musical tastes, and romantic relationship status through the profiles.
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1143–1168 ª 2007 International Communication Association1143
, Facebook constitutes a rich site for researchers interested in the affordances of
social networks due to its heavy usage patterns and technological capacities that bridge
online and offline connections. We believe that Facebook represents an understudied
offline to online trend in that it originally primarily served a geographically-bound
community (the campus). When data were collected for this study, membership was
restricted to people with a specific host institution email address, further tying offline
networks to online membership. In this sense, the original incarnation of Facebook
was similar to the wired Toronto neighborhood studied by Hampton and Wellman
(e.g., Hampton, 2002; Hampton & Wellman, 2003), who suggest that information
technology may enhance place-based community and facilitate the generation of social
capital.1 Previous research suggests that Facebook users engage in ‘‘searching’’ for
people with whom they have an offline connection more than they ‘‘browse’’ for
complete strangers to meet (Lampe, Ellison, & Steinfield, 2006).
Online SNSs support both the maintenance of existing social ties and the for-
mation of new connections. Much of the early research on online communities
assumed that individuals using these systems would be connecting with others out-
side their pre-existing social group or location, liberating them to form communities
around shared interests, as opposed to shared geography (Wellman, Salaff, Dimitrova,
Garton, Gulia, & Haythornthwaite, 1996). A hallmark of this early research is the
presumption that when online and offline social networks overlapped, the direction-
ality was online to offline—online connections resulted in face-to-face meetings. For
instance, Parks and Floyd (1996) report that one-third of their respondents later met
their online correspondents face-to-face. As they write, ‘‘These findings imply that
relationships that begin on line rarely stay there’’ (n.p.).
Although this early work acknowledged the ways in which offline and online
networks bled into one another, the assumed online to offline directionality may not
apply to today’s SNSs that are structured both to articulate existing connections and
enable the creation of new ones. However, because there is little empirical research
that addresses whether members use SNSs to maintain existing ties or to form new
ones, the social capital implications of these services are unknown.
An Overview of Facebook
Created in 2004, by 2007 Facebook was reported to have more than 21 million
registered members generating 1.6 billion page views each day (Needham & Company,
2007). The site is tightly integrated into the daily media practices of its users: The
typical user spends about 20 minutes a day on the site, and two-thirds of users log in
at least once a day (Cassidy, 2006; Needham & Company, 2007). Capitalizing on its
success among college students, Facebook launched a high school version in early
September 2005. In 2006, the company introduced communities for commercial
organizations; as of November 2006, almost 22,000 organizations had Facebook
directories (Smith, 2006). In 2006, Facebook was used at over 2,000 United States
colleges and was the seventh most popular site on the World Wide Web with respect
to total page views (Cassidy, 2006).
1144Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1143–1168 ª 2007 International Communication Association
, Much of the existing academic research on Facebook has focused on identity
presentation and privacy concerns (e.g., Gross & Acquisti, 2005; Stutzman, 2006).
Looking at the amount of information Facebook participants provide about them-
selves, the relatively open nature of the information, and the lack of privacy controls
enacted by the users, Gross and Acquisti (2005) argue that users may be putting
themselves at risk both offline (e.g., stalking) and online (e.g., identify theft). Other
recent Facebook research examines student perceptions of instructor presence and self-
disclosure (Hewitt & Forte, 2006; Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds, 2007), temporal pat-
terns of use (Golder, Wilkinson, & Huberman, 2007), and the relationship between
profile structure and friendship articulation (Lampe, Ellison, & Steinfield, 2007).
In contrast to popular press coverage which has primarily focused on negative
outcomes of Facebook use stemming from users’ misconceptions about the nature of
their online audience, we are interested in situations in which the intended audience
for the profile (such as well-meaning peers and friends) and the actual audience are
aligned. We use Facebook as a research context in order to determine whether offline
social capital can be generated by online tools. The results of our study show that
Facebook use among college-age respondents was significantly associated with meas-
ures of social capital.
Literature Review
Social Capital: Online and Offline
Social capital broadly refers to the resources accumulated through the relationships
among people (Coleman, 1988). Social capital is an elastic term with a variety of
definitions in multiple fields (Adler & Kwon, 2002), conceived of as both a cause and
an effect (Resnick, 2001; Williams, 2006). Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) define
social capital as ‘‘the sum of the 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’’ (p. 14). The
resources from these relationships can differ in form and function based on the
relationships themselves.
Social capital has been linked to a variety of positive social outcomes, such as
better public health, lower crime rates, and more efficient financial markets (Adler &
Kwon, 2002). According to several measures of social capital, this important resource
has been declining in the U.S. for the past several years (Putnam, 2000). When social
capital declines, a community experiences increased social disorder, reduced partici-
pation in civic activities, and potentially more distrust among community members.
Greater social capital increases commitment to a community and the ability to
mobilize collective actions, among other benefits. Social capital may also be used
for negative purposes, but in general social capital is seen as a positive effect of
interaction among participants in a social network (Helliwell & Putnam, 2004).
For individuals, social capital allows a person to draw on resources from other
members of the networks to which he or she belongs. These resources can take the
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1143–1168 ª 2007 International Communication Association1145
The Benefits of Facebook ‘‘Friends:’’ Social
Capital and College Students’ Use of
Online Social Network Sites
Nicole B. Ellison
Charles Steinfield
Cliff Lampe
Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media
Michigan State University
This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, a popular online social
network site, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. In addition to
assessing bonding and bridging social capital, we explore a dimension of social capital
that assesses one’s ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited
community, which we call maintained social capital. Regression analyses conducted on
results from a survey of undergraduate students (N = 286) suggest a strong association
between use of Facebook and the three types of social capital, with the strongest rela-
tionship being to bridging social capital. In addition, Facebook usage was found to
interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide
greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.
doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x
Introduction
Social network sites (SNSs) such as such as Friendster, CyWorld, and MySpace allow
individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or
maintain connections with others. These sites can be oriented towards work-related
contexts (e.g., LinkedIn.com), romantic relationship initiation (the original goal of
Friendster.com), connecting those with shared interests such as music or politics
(e.g., MySpace.com), or the college student population (the original incarnation of
Facebook.com). Participants may use the sites to interact with people they already
know offline or to meet new people. The online social network application analyzed
in this article, Facebook, enables its users to present themselves in an online profile,
accumulate ‘‘friends’’ who can post comments on each other’s pages, and view each
other’s profiles. Facebook members can also join virtual groups based on common
interests, see what classes they have in common, and learn each others’ hobbies,
interests, musical tastes, and romantic relationship status through the profiles.
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1143–1168 ª 2007 International Communication Association1143
, Facebook constitutes a rich site for researchers interested in the affordances of
social networks due to its heavy usage patterns and technological capacities that bridge
online and offline connections. We believe that Facebook represents an understudied
offline to online trend in that it originally primarily served a geographically-bound
community (the campus). When data were collected for this study, membership was
restricted to people with a specific host institution email address, further tying offline
networks to online membership. In this sense, the original incarnation of Facebook
was similar to the wired Toronto neighborhood studied by Hampton and Wellman
(e.g., Hampton, 2002; Hampton & Wellman, 2003), who suggest that information
technology may enhance place-based community and facilitate the generation of social
capital.1 Previous research suggests that Facebook users engage in ‘‘searching’’ for
people with whom they have an offline connection more than they ‘‘browse’’ for
complete strangers to meet (Lampe, Ellison, & Steinfield, 2006).
Online SNSs support both the maintenance of existing social ties and the for-
mation of new connections. Much of the early research on online communities
assumed that individuals using these systems would be connecting with others out-
side their pre-existing social group or location, liberating them to form communities
around shared interests, as opposed to shared geography (Wellman, Salaff, Dimitrova,
Garton, Gulia, & Haythornthwaite, 1996). A hallmark of this early research is the
presumption that when online and offline social networks overlapped, the direction-
ality was online to offline—online connections resulted in face-to-face meetings. For
instance, Parks and Floyd (1996) report that one-third of their respondents later met
their online correspondents face-to-face. As they write, ‘‘These findings imply that
relationships that begin on line rarely stay there’’ (n.p.).
Although this early work acknowledged the ways in which offline and online
networks bled into one another, the assumed online to offline directionality may not
apply to today’s SNSs that are structured both to articulate existing connections and
enable the creation of new ones. However, because there is little empirical research
that addresses whether members use SNSs to maintain existing ties or to form new
ones, the social capital implications of these services are unknown.
An Overview of Facebook
Created in 2004, by 2007 Facebook was reported to have more than 21 million
registered members generating 1.6 billion page views each day (Needham & Company,
2007). The site is tightly integrated into the daily media practices of its users: The
typical user spends about 20 minutes a day on the site, and two-thirds of users log in
at least once a day (Cassidy, 2006; Needham & Company, 2007). Capitalizing on its
success among college students, Facebook launched a high school version in early
September 2005. In 2006, the company introduced communities for commercial
organizations; as of November 2006, almost 22,000 organizations had Facebook
directories (Smith, 2006). In 2006, Facebook was used at over 2,000 United States
colleges and was the seventh most popular site on the World Wide Web with respect
to total page views (Cassidy, 2006).
1144Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1143–1168 ª 2007 International Communication Association
, Much of the existing academic research on Facebook has focused on identity
presentation and privacy concerns (e.g., Gross & Acquisti, 2005; Stutzman, 2006).
Looking at the amount of information Facebook participants provide about them-
selves, the relatively open nature of the information, and the lack of privacy controls
enacted by the users, Gross and Acquisti (2005) argue that users may be putting
themselves at risk both offline (e.g., stalking) and online (e.g., identify theft). Other
recent Facebook research examines student perceptions of instructor presence and self-
disclosure (Hewitt & Forte, 2006; Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds, 2007), temporal pat-
terns of use (Golder, Wilkinson, & Huberman, 2007), and the relationship between
profile structure and friendship articulation (Lampe, Ellison, & Steinfield, 2007).
In contrast to popular press coverage which has primarily focused on negative
outcomes of Facebook use stemming from users’ misconceptions about the nature of
their online audience, we are interested in situations in which the intended audience
for the profile (such as well-meaning peers and friends) and the actual audience are
aligned. We use Facebook as a research context in order to determine whether offline
social capital can be generated by online tools. The results of our study show that
Facebook use among college-age respondents was significantly associated with meas-
ures of social capital.
Literature Review
Social Capital: Online and Offline
Social capital broadly refers to the resources accumulated through the relationships
among people (Coleman, 1988). Social capital is an elastic term with a variety of
definitions in multiple fields (Adler & Kwon, 2002), conceived of as both a cause and
an effect (Resnick, 2001; Williams, 2006). Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) define
social capital as ‘‘the sum of the 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’’ (p. 14). The
resources from these relationships can differ in form and function based on the
relationships themselves.
Social capital has been linked to a variety of positive social outcomes, such as
better public health, lower crime rates, and more efficient financial markets (Adler &
Kwon, 2002). According to several measures of social capital, this important resource
has been declining in the U.S. for the past several years (Putnam, 2000). When social
capital declines, a community experiences increased social disorder, reduced partici-
pation in civic activities, and potentially more distrust among community members.
Greater social capital increases commitment to a community and the ability to
mobilize collective actions, among other benefits. Social capital may also be used
for negative purposes, but in general social capital is seen as a positive effect of
interaction among participants in a social network (Helliwell & Putnam, 2004).
For individuals, social capital allows a person to draw on resources from other
members of the networks to which he or she belongs. These resources can take the
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1143–1168 ª 2007 International Communication Association1145
