Title: ICT use and social capital: fresh perspectives on the use(s) of mobiles, computers, and tablets

Authors: Hoon Lee; Yong Jin Park

Addresses: Department of Media, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyunghee-daero, Seoul, South Korea ' School of Communication, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA

Abstract: This study highlights differences in how mobile, portable, and fixed forms of information and communication technology (ICT) use support bonding and bridging forms of social capital. Results from a two-wave longitudinal panel survey revealed that dominant patterns of use were: 1) personal for mobile phones; 2) political for desktop PC; 3) personal as well as political uses for laptop, while tablet did not show any manifest usage patterns. Follow-up analysis linked specific uses of each medium to the distinct forms of social capital. We found that mobile phone use for personal relationships and coordinating activities contributed to bonding capital, while desktop PC use for political communication and information exchange supported bridging capital. Uses of laptop computers and tablets had no effect on any of social capital in this study.

Keywords: information and communication technologies; ICTs; mobile phone; personal computer; laptop; tablet; social capital.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2021.118600

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2021 Vol.19 No.6, pp.752 - 771

Accepted: 24 Jun 2020
Published online: 29 Oct 2021 *

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