Andrea L. Kavanaugh, Debbie Denise Reese, John M. Carroll and Mary
Beth Rosson
Communities with high levels of social capital are likely to have a higher
quality of life than communities with low social capital. This is due to the
greater ability of such communities to organize and mobilize effectively for
collective action because they have high levels of social trust, dense social
networks, and well-established norms of mutuality (the major features of social
capital). Communities with ‘bridging’ social capital (weak ties
across groups) as well as ‘bonding’ social capital (strong ties
within groups) are the most effective in organizing for collective action. People
who belong to multiple groups act as bridging ties. When people with bridging
ties use communication media, such as the Internet, they enhance their capability
to educate community members, and organize, as needed, for collective action.
This paper summarizes evidence from stratified household survey data in Blacksburg,
Virginia showing that people with weak (bridging) ties across groups have higher
levels of community involvement, civic interest and collective efficacy than
people without bridging ties among groups. Moreover, heavy Internet users with
bridging ties have higher social engagement, use the Internet for social purposes,
and have been attending more local meetings and events since going online than
heavy Internet users with no bridging ties. These findings may suggest that
the Internet – in the hands of bridging individuals - is a tool for enhancing
social relations and information exchange, and for increasing face-to-face interaction,
all of which help to build both bonding and bridging social capital in communities.