Description

Social networking sites (SNS) has revolutionized communication and networking. Everyone now days can stay connected and bridges the gaps in relationships with these sites. A lot of social capital is being accumulated through the usage of SNS. This study aimed to explore the social networking sites usage among adolescents and to examine the impact of SNS usage on the overall social capital of adolescents. The problem has been looked into through individual differences: self-esteem and social communication skills. Triangulation research design was selected with survey being the quantitative data collection method and field observations, experiment (personal diary and focus group discussions) being qualitative data collection methods. The result of research are coherent with some past studies and have refuted some prior findings too. In succinct, a significant relationship was found between bridging social capital and SNS usage though it also helps in maintenance of strong bonds but no statistically significant relationship was found between bonding social capital and SNS usage. However, there was no significant relationship between any individual difference and SNS usage. SNS do decrease the physical social capital of adolescents and but it also tends to increase their virtual social capital.