| Título: |
Social capital development of college students through online social networks Social capital development of college students through online social networks Desarrollo del capital social de los estudiantes universitarios a través de las redes sociales en línea |
| Autores: |
Valerio, Gabriel; Tecnológico de Monterrey Valenzuela, Ricardo; Tecnológico de Monterrey |
| Fecha: | 2013-12-02 |
| Publicador: | Intangible capital |
| Fuente: |
 |
| Tipo: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
| Tema: |
social capital, social networks, college students I29 social capital, social networks, college students I29 capital social, redes sociales en línea, estudiantes universitarios I29 |
| Descripción: |
Purpose: To understand how online social networks promote social capital development of college students.Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative and ethnographic, studied during an academic semester (5 months) the case of a group of 21 university students of Information Technology Management from a private school in Mexico. Was used participant observation, through Facebook, and the interview as data collection tools.Findings and Originality/value: Online social networks have the potential to encourage social capital development, because they promote, in different proportions, the relational dimensions of social capital: confidence, identification, sharing standards and the acquisition of expectations and obligations. The three main features that have online social networks to promote the development of social capital are: the possibility of sharing information resources, the ability to communicate both publicly and privately and the possibility of increasing the contacts network.Research limitations/implications: A) the activities carried out privately was not observed. B) Although there are many online social networks, only was analyzed the behavior of participants through Facebook. C) The profile of the participants of the community under study is quite homogeneous. Therefore, when interpreting the results, the level of generalization is reduced to communities with similar characteristics.Originality/value: Previous research has shown that online social networks can promote social capital development in college students. However, this paper identifies the specific characteristics of online social networks, and behaviors of college students, that allow such development. Purpose: To understand how online social networks promote social capital development of college students. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative and ethnographic, studied during an academic semester (5 months) the case of a group of 21 university students of Information Technology Management from a private school in Mexico. Was used participant observation, through Facebook, and the interview as data collection tools. Findings and Originality/value: Online social networks have the potential to encourage social capital development, because they promote, in different proportions, the relational dimensions of social capital: confidence, identification, sharing standards and the acquisition of expectations and obligations. The three main features that have online social networks to promote the development of social capital are: the possibility of sharing information resources, the ability to communicate both publicly and privately and the possibility of increasing the contacts network. Research limitations/implications: A) the activities carried out privately was not observed. B) Although there are many online social networks, only was analyzed the behavior of participants through Facebook. C) The profile of the participants of the community under study is quite homogeneous. Therefore, when interpreting the results, the level of generalization is reduced to communities with similar characteristics. Originality/value: Previous research has shown that online social networks can promote social capital development in college students. However, this paper identifies the specific characteristics of online social networks, and behaviors of college students, that allow such development. Objeto: Comprender cómo las redes sociales en línea promueven el desarrollo del capital social de los estudiantes universitarios. Diseño/metodología: Cualitativa y de corte etnográfico, estudió durante un semestre académico (5 meses) el caso de un grupo de 21 universitarios de la carrera de Licenciatura en Administración de Tecnologías de Información de una escuela privada en México. Se utilizó la observación participativa, a través de Facebook, y la entrevista como herramientas de recolección de datos. Aportaciones y resultados: Las redes sociales en línea tienen potencial de favorecer el desarrollo del capital social, ya que promueven, en distinta medida, las dimensiones relacionales del capital social: el desarrollo de la confianza, la identificación, la compartición de normas y la adquisición de expectativas y obligaciones. Las tres principales características que poseen las redes sociales en línea para propiciar el desarrollo del capital social son: la posibilidad de compartir recursos de información, la posibilidad de comunicarse de manera pública y privada y la posibilidad de incrementar la red de contactos. Limitaciones: A) No se pudo observar las actividades que se realizan de forma privada. B) Aunque existen muchas herramientas de redes sociales en línea, sólo se analizó el comportamiento de los participantes a través de Facebook. C) El perfil de los participantes de la comunidad bajo estudio es bastante homogéneo. Por ello, al momento de interpretar los resultados, el nivel de generalización se reduce a comunidades que tengan características similares. Valor añadido: Investigaciones previas han demostrado que las redes sociales en línea pueden favorecer el desarrollo del capital social en los estudiantes universitarios. Sin embargo, este trabajo identifica las características particulares de las redes sociales en línea, y los comportamientos de los estudiantes universitarios, que permiten que se de dicho desarrollo. |
| Idioma: | Inglés |