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African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites

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  • Danielle Taana Smith

    (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Rochester Institute of Technology, 21 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA)

Abstract

This study examines the participation of African Americans on social networking sites (SNS), and evaluates the degree to which African Americans engage in activities in the online environment to mitigate social capital deficits. Prior literature suggests that compared with whites, African Americans have less social capital that can enhance their socio-economic mobility. As such, my research question is: do African Americans enhance their social capital through their participation on SNS? I use nationally representative data collected from the Pew Internet and American Life Project to explore the research question. The results suggest that the online environment is potentially a space in which African Americans can lessen social capital deficits.

Suggested Citation

  • Danielle Taana Smith, 2013. "African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jftint:v:5:y:2013:i:1:p:56-66:d:24030
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Glass, R., 1999. "Social capital and self-rated health: A contextual analysis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(8), pages 1187-1193.
    2. Erika Hayes James, 2000. "Race-Related Differences in Promotions and Support: Underlying Effects of Human and Social Capital," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(5), pages 493-508, October.
    3. Luke Keele, 2007. "Social Capital and the Dynamics of Trust in Government," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(2), pages 241-254, April.
    4. Roderick Graham & Danielle Taana Smith, 2011. "Internet as Digital Practice: Examining Differences in African American Internet Usage," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-19, July.
    5. James H. Spencer & Katherine Irwin & Karen N. Umemoto & Orlando Garcia-Santiago & Stephanie T. Nishimura & Earl S. Hishinuma & Soojean Choi-Misailidis, 2009. "Exploring the Hypothesis of Ethnic Practice as Social Capital: Violence Among Asian/Pacific Islander Youth in Hawaii," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 55(6), pages 506-524, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roderick Graham, 2013. "Introduction to the Special Issue on Inequality in the Digital Environment," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-5, November.

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