Do Social Networks and Snss Function As Social Capital for Social Engagement?

This paper examines what types of social networks are facilitated by online networking activities and function as social capital for social engagement in South Korea. East Asian Social Survey (EASS) Module in 2012 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS) provides measures for social networks and social engagements whereas KGSS has a unique module for Internet/SNS activities. Analysis focuses on social eating/drinking and neighbors’ social support as social networks, local participation, voluntary activities, and political interests as social engagement, and the presence of internet and/or SNS activities as online networking. Analyses of 2012 KGSS and EASS Module observe that online networking activities facilitate social eating/drinking, but not neighbors’ social support. Correcting for possible bias by counterfactual analysis, it is SNS activities, not internet activities per se, that facilitate social eating/ drinking. It is also observed that both social eating/drinking and neighbors’ support function as social capital for both types of social engagements: local participation and voluntary activities. SNS activities do not directly affect those social engagements but promote political interests, whose effect is robust after counterfactual analysis. Concerning personality traits, more conscientious and open people engage in social matters more actively while less conscientious but more open people are more likely to use SNSs. In summary, this paper finds that (1) both neighborhood-based strong ties and socially outreaching weak ties encourage social engagements for local and public interests; (2) SNS activities mainly helps social outreaches and promote political interests, but not actions yet; and (3) SNS activities have affinity with specific types of personality and exercise distinctive impacts on social networks and engagements beyond those of internet activities.