Volume 6, Issue 4 (12-2023)
Iranian Journal of Educational Sociology 2023, 6(4): 246-255 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Jaberian N. (2023). Digital Literacy and Online Social Capital. Iranian Journal of Educational Sociology. 6(4), 246-255. doi:10.61186/ijes.6.4.246
URL: http://iase-idje.ir/article-1-1329-en.html
URL: http://iase-idje.ir/article-1-1329-en.html
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (92 Views)
Purpose: Digital literacy fosters social advantages such as chances to interact with others and forge and develop social relationships by enabling online activities and leading to online social capital development. This study investigated the relationship between digital literacy and online social capital.
Methodology: The research method is quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational. Participants comprised 754 (520 female and 234 male) students of Tabriz universities during the months of June and August 2023, who were randomly selected from among those willing to cooperate and responded to the Digital Literacy Questionnaire (Ng, 2012) and Online Social Capital Questionnaire (Duradoni et al., 2022). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling with SPSS version 27 and Amos Graphic version 24 software.
Findings: Utilizing confirmatory factor analysis, the factorial structure of the research instruments was examined. The digital literacy questionnaire's three-factor structure and the online social capital questionnaire's two-factor structure were confirmed. The GFIs were higher than 0.9, and the RMSEA was below 0.08. The fit indices indicate that the structural model describing the relationship between digital literacy and online social capital is supported. The standard weights of the confidence and connectedness dimensions of the relationship between digital literacy and online social capital were 0.42 and 0.48, respectively (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Digital literacy encompasses social, cognitive, and emotional skills in addition to technical ones. Therefore, digital literacy is multidimensional and lays the foundation for a new, constantly evolving style of online relationships and interpersonal connections. Higher levels of digital literacy and its components provide individuals with the ability and opportunity to convert their network of relationships into other forms of capital, obtain and provide support in the virtual space, and engage in emotional exchange, group leisure time, counselling, and collaboration. These competencies form the basis of online social capital.
Methodology: The research method is quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational. Participants comprised 754 (520 female and 234 male) students of Tabriz universities during the months of June and August 2023, who were randomly selected from among those willing to cooperate and responded to the Digital Literacy Questionnaire (Ng, 2012) and Online Social Capital Questionnaire (Duradoni et al., 2022). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling with SPSS version 27 and Amos Graphic version 24 software.
Findings: Utilizing confirmatory factor analysis, the factorial structure of the research instruments was examined. The digital literacy questionnaire's three-factor structure and the online social capital questionnaire's two-factor structure were confirmed. The GFIs were higher than 0.9, and the RMSEA was below 0.08. The fit indices indicate that the structural model describing the relationship between digital literacy and online social capital is supported. The standard weights of the confidence and connectedness dimensions of the relationship between digital literacy and online social capital were 0.42 and 0.48, respectively (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Digital literacy encompasses social, cognitive, and emotional skills in addition to technical ones. Therefore, digital literacy is multidimensional and lays the foundation for a new, constantly evolving style of online relationships and interpersonal connections. Higher levels of digital literacy and its components provide individuals with the ability and opportunity to convert their network of relationships into other forms of capital, obtain and provide support in the virtual space, and engage in emotional exchange, group leisure time, counselling, and collaboration. These competencies form the basis of online social capital.
Type of Study: Research Article |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2023/10/4 | Accepted: 2024/03/2 | Published: 2024/03/6
Received: 2023/10/4 | Accepted: 2024/03/2 | Published: 2024/03/6
References
1. Addeo, F., D'Auria, V., Delli Paoli, A., Punziano, G., Ragnedda, M., & Ruiu, M. L. (2023). Measuring digital capital in Italy. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, 1144657. [DOI:10.3389/fsoc.2023.1144657] [PMID] []
2. Ali, A., Raza, A. A., & Qazi, I. A. (2023). Validated digital literacy measures for populations with low levels of internet experiences. Development Engineering, 8, 100107. [DOI:10.1016/j.deveng.2023.100107]
3. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood Press.
4. Chen, H.-T., & Li, X. (2017). The contribution of mobile social media to social capital and psychological well-being: Examining the role of communicative use, friending and self-disclosure. Computers in Human Behavior, 75, 958-965. [DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.011]
5. Chen, L., Baird, A., & Straub, D. (2020). A linguistic signaling model of social support exchange in online health communities. Decision Support Systems, 130, 113233.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2019.113233 [DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2019.113233]
6. Cui, G.-H., Li, S.-J., Yin, Y.-T., Chen, L.-J., Li, J.-Q., Liang, F.-Y., Liu, X.-Y., & Chen, L. (2021). The relationship among social capital, eHealth literacy and health behaviours in Chinese elderly people: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 45. [DOI:10.1186/s12889-020-10037-4] [PMID] []
7. Drentea, P., & Moren‐Cross, J. L. (2005). Social capital and social support on the web: The case of an internet mother site. Sociology of Health & Illness, 27(7), 920-943. [DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9566.2005.00464.x] [PMID] []
8. Duradoni, M., Meacci, S., Panerai, G., Salvatori, G., & Guazzini, A. (2022). Development and validation of the Social Media Capital Scale (SMC): A brand new measure for online social capital. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2022, 9903615. [DOI:10.1155/2022/9903615]
9. Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites. Journal of computer‐mediated communication, 12(4), 1143-1168. [DOI:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x]
10. Ellison, N. B., Vitak, J., Gray, R., & Lampe, C. (2014). Cultivating social resources on social network sites: Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors and their role in social capital processes. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(4), 855-870. [DOI:10.1111/jcc4.12078]
11. Grondin, F., Lomanowska, A. M., & Jackson, P. L. (2019). Empathy in computer-mediated interactions: A conceptual framework for research and clinical practice. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 26(4), e12298. [DOI:10.1111/cpsp.12298]
12. Hargittai, E. (2005). Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital Literacy. Social Science Computer Review, 23(3), 371-379. [DOI:10.1177/0894439305275911]
13. Hargittai, E., & Micheli, M. (2019). Internet skills and why they matter. In: .. . , . In M. Graham & W. H. Dutton (Eds.), Society and the Internet : How networks of information and communication are changing our lives (pp. 109-124). Oxford: Oxford University Press. [DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198843498.003.0007]
14. Heidari, E., Salimi, G., & Mehrvarz, M. (2023). The influence of online social networks and online social capital on constructing a new graduate students' professional identity. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(1), 214-231. [DOI:10.1080/10494820.2020.1769682]
15. Hjort, J., & Tian, L. (2021). The economic impact of internet connectivity in developing countries INSEAD Working Paper 2021/68/EPS, https://lin-tian.github.io/files/internet_connectivity.pdf [DOI:10.2139/ssrn.3964618]
16. Jin, C.-H. (2013). The role of Facebook users' self-systems in generating social relationships and social capital effects. New Media & Society, 17, 501-519. [DOI:10.1177/1461444813506977]
17. Kahai, S. S., & Lei, Y. (2019). Building social capital with Facebook: Type of network, availability of other media, and social self-efficacy matter. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 130, 113-129. [DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.05.013]
18. Kim, B., Lee, M., Kim, K., Choi, H., & Lee, S. M. (2015). Longitudinal Analysis of Academic Burnout in Korean Middle School Students. Stress Health, 31(4), 281-289. [DOI:10.1002/smi.2553] [PMID]
19. Kim, G. M., Jeong, E. J., Lee, J. Y., & Yoo, J. H. (2022). Role of social capital in adolescents' online gaming: A longitudinal study focused on the moderating effect of social capital between gaming time and psychosocial factors. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 931134. [DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.931134] [PMID] []
20. Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford publications.
21. List, A. (2019). Defining digital literacy development: An examination of pre-service teachers' beliefs. Computers & Education, 138, 146-158. [DOI:10.1016/j.compedu.2019.03.009]
22. Livingstone, S., Stoilova, M., & Nandagiri, R. (2020). Data and privacy literacy: The role of the school in educating children in a datafied society. The handbook of media education research, 413-425. [DOI:10.1002/9781119166900.ch38]
23. Maneesriwongul, W., & Dixon, J. K. (2004). Instrument translation process: a methods review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48(2), 175-186.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03185.x [DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03185.x] [PMID]
24. Masciantonio, A., Bourguignon, D., Bouchat, P., Balty, M., & Rimé, B. (2021). Don't put all social network sites in one basket: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and their relations with well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. PloS one, 16(3), e0248384. [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0248384] [PMID] []
25. McKneely, B. R., Kim, J., Leung, X., & Pookulangara, S. (2020). Social capital on Instagram: application for small apparel retailers. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 14(4), 22-38. [DOI:10.33423/jmdc.v14i4.3172]
26. Milenkova, V., & Lendzhova, V. (2021). Digital Citizenship and Digital Literacy in the Conditions of Social Crisis. Computers, 10(4), 40. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-431X/10/4/40 [DOI:10.3390/computers10040040]
27. Morgan, A., Sibson, R., & Jackson, D. (2022). Digital demand and digital deficit: conceptualising digital literacy and gauging proficiency among higher education students. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 44(3), 258-275. [DOI:10.1080/1360080X.2022.2030275]
28. Ng, W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy? Computers & Education, 59(3), 1065-1078.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016 [DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016]
29. Nichols, T., & Stornaiuolo, A. (2019). Assembling "digital literacies": Contingent pasts, possible futures. Media and Communication, 7(2), 14-24. https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/35305 [DOI:10.17645/mac.v7i2.1946]
30. Oh, S. S., Kim, K.-A., Kim, M., Oh, J., Chu, S. H., & Choi, J. (2021). Measurement of digital literacy among older adults: systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 23(2), e26145. [DOI:10.2196/26145] [PMID] []
31. Ragnedda, M. (2018). Conceptualizing digital capital. Telematics and Informatics, 35(8), 2366-2375. [DOI:10.1016/j.tele.2018.10.006]
32. Ren, Y., Harper, F. M., Drenner, S., Terveen, L., Kiesler, S., Riedl, J., & Kraut, R. E. (2012). Building member attachment in online communities: Applying theories of group identity and interpersonal bonds. MIS quarterly, 841-864. [DOI:10.2307/41703483]
33. Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. . Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 434-445. [DOI:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.002]
34. Vodă, A. I., Cautisanu, C., Grădinaru, C., Tănăsescu, C., & de Moraes, G. H. S. M. (2022). Exploring digital literacy skills in social sciences and humanities students. Sustainability, 14(5), 2483. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2483 [DOI:10.3390/su14052483]
35. Williams, J. R. (2019). The use of online social networking sites to nurture and cultivate bonding social capital: A systematic review of the literature from 1997 to 2018. New Media & Society, 21(11-12), 2710-2729. [DOI:10.1177/1461444819858749]
36. Worrall, A., Cappello, A., & Osolen, R. (2021). The importance of socio-emotional considerations in online communities, social informatics, and information science. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 72(10), 1247-1260.
https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24489 [DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24489]
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
.jpg)
