Digital competences and skills as key factors between connectedness and tolerance to diversity on social networking sites: Case study of social work graduates on Facebook

2021 ◽  
pp. 001139212098334
Author(s):  
Joaquín Castillo de Mesa ◽  
Luis Gómez Jacinto

Social networking services are becoming parallel socialization universes. In these digital contexts, people tend to connect with others who share their perspectives and opinions about the world. Emerging voices are warning about the growing homophily resulting from these forms of socialization, which can have a negative impact on tolerance to diversity and the quality of social capital. Relational approach disciplines such as social work can provide digital skills and competences to improve the manner in which these services are used. In this article, the authors analyse how patterns of connectedness among social work graduates affect tolerance to diversity and social capital. A sample of 126 social work graduates was analysed to assess their connectedness patterns on Facebook. Participants were also asked about their digital competences and skills in order to know how these variables can mediate the achievement of tolerance to diversity and social capital. Results show that higher connectedness, when social work graduates have digital skills on Facebook, leads to higher tolerance to diversity and social capital. In order to counteract homophily, social workers must encourage users to acquire digital skills thus increasing tolerance for diversity.

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 2613-2628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elija Cassidy

This article conceptualises ‘participatory reluctance’ as a particular orientation to social media that problematises binarised notions of connection and disconnection in social networking sites. It qualitatively examines how the concept has functioned within gay men’s social networking service, Gaydar, among 18- to 28-year-old users of the site in Brisbane, Australia. Participatory reluctance is shown to be a central aspect of the culture of this space, fostered among the studied demographic by the convergence of the growing global push for marriage equality and increasing normalisation of the kinds of gay male identities commonly adopted among this group, with three key factors rooted primarily in Gaydar’s design: (1) young users’ perceptions of the site as a space for procuring casual sex, (2) their perceptions of the imagined user as embodying existing stereotypes of gay masculinity and (3) a lack of genuine alternatives in terms of niche digital spaces for gay men’s social networking.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Miskahuddin Miskahuddin

The Internet is one result of the sophistication and advancement of science and man-made technology. Various conveniences offered, one of which is social media. But unfortunately, this sophistication has an impact on the quality of education. The worst impact in the world of education that may result from social networking sites is beginning to decrease interest in student learning. This is probably because the student's learning motivation also becomes reduced because of the importance of social networking rather than the learning achievement. To minimize the negative impact, as users we must be more intelligent. Internet savvy is how an internet user can manage and utilize internet technology wisely tailored to the needs and not violate ethical and internet codes of ethics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1169-1180
Author(s):  
Jelena Filipovic ◽  
◽  
Maja Arslanagic Kalajdzic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Abdulelah A. Alghamdi ◽  
Margaret Plunkett

With the increased use of Social Networking Sites and Apps (SNSAs) in Saudi Arabia, it is important to consider the impact of this on the social lives of tertiary students, who are heavy users of such technology. A mixed methods study exploring the effect of SNSAs use on the social capital of Saudi postgraduate students was conducted using a multidimensional construct of social capital, which included the components of life satisfaction, social trust, civic participation, and political engagement. Data were collected through surveys and interviews involving 313 male and 293 female postgraduate students from Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) in Makkah. Findings show that male and female participants perceived SNSAs use impacting all components of social capital at a moderate and mainly positive level. Correlational analysis demonstrated medium to large positive correlations among components of social capital. Gender differences were not evident in the life satisfaction and social trust components; however, females reported more involvement with SNSAs for the purposes of political engagement while males reported more use for civic participation, which is an interesting finding, in light of the norms and traditional culture of Saudi society.


Groupwork ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin Castillo de Mesa ◽  
Antonio López Peláez ◽  
Paula Méndez Domínguez

Isolation is a clear indicator of social exclusion. To tackle it, we wondered if it would be possible to improve digital skills and strengthen bonds through online groups on a social networking site. This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out in Malaga (Spain) with unemployed users of social care services. From the perspective of social work practice with groups, this study aims at strengthening bonds and mutual help through improving digital skills. This was carried out using a Facebook group as a shared space for community empowerment. To know the impact of these interactions, netnography and social network analysis were conveyed, as well as algorithms to identify communities and assess cohesion. Results showed that Facebook groups may be effective tools to promote active learning and mutual support and which can be used effectively by social workers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien Wen Yuan ◽  
Yu-Hao Lee

PurposeSocial networking sites (SNSs) offer people the possibility of maintaining larger networks of social ties, which also entails more complex relationship maintenance across multiple platforms. Whom to “friend” and via which platform can involve complex deliberations. This study investigates the relationships between users' perceived friending affordances of five popular SNSs (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn) and their friending behaviors concerning strong ties, weak ties (existing and latent ties) and parasocial ties.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey using Qualtrics was provided to participants (N = 626) through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The survey asked their SNS use and their friending behaviors with different ties on each of the sites.FindingsUsers' friending decisions are dependent on an interplay of socio-technical affordances of each SNS and specific needs for the ties. The authors found that the affordances of bridging social capital and enjoyment are aligned with friending weak and parasocial ties, respectively. The affordances of bonding social capital were not valued to friend strong ties.Originality/valueThe study extends the affordance and social capital literature by assessing users' perceived, contextualized SNS affordances in relation to actual communication behaviors in friending different social ties. This approach provides contextualized insights to friending decisions and practices on SNSs.


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