A Study about the Influences of Social Self-Efficacy on Social Trust and Social Capital: Facebook
Abstract:~ Facebook is currently the most popular social networking service in the world. With such tremendous influence on community networks, Facebook has been attracting considerable attention both from the media and academia. A review of the literature indicates that most researchers are concerned primarily with the influence of personal traits on online interactive behavior. This study began from the premise that self-efficacy, the confidence of individuals to function in an online-community, is a key element influencing participation in on-line social networks. This study attempted to establish a model of the social traits of Facebook users, and our results indicate that social self-efficacy has a positive influence on social trust; social trust has a positive influence on social capital, and social trust mediates the relationship between social self-efficacy and social capital.
Introduction:~ Online interpersonal interaction becomes an important aspect of social activities, and its influence on the social life of individuals continues to grow. The most comprehensive integrated online interpersonal platform is the so-called “social network service,” or SNS. In addition to providing an integrated platform on which to make friends, SNSs also allow users to display personal information in an open or semi-open manner, and seek out friends known from social settings in the real world. These “networks” focus on the fact that users also maintain a social life beyond the internet, and join networks not only to make new acquaintances but to remain in touch with current friends. This is the fundamental difference between SNSs and previous social websites (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). SNS websites establish an online interpersonal platform by combining user content with a larger community. Keep reading…







