The Use of Information and Communication Technologies and Social Capital: the Nature of the Correlation

Abstract

Objective. Critical analysis of existing research about the correlation between involvement in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and social capital; formulation of the author’s point of view on limitations of existing research about the correlation between ICT and social capital.Background. The development of ICT creates a new social reality and appearance of new social practices. Spreading of ICT and, in particular, the Internet, defines global changes in the technological context of communications. Social capital as one of the most important products of social interaction can be determined by the development of ICT, and at the same time social capital can influence the development of ICT. What is the nature of this relationship, how social capital will change in the context of ICT’s development, and how social capital affects the inclusion people in ICT’s using — these are the main questions that this study focuses on.Conclusions. Existing studies prove the correlation between social capital and developing of ICT. In doing so, both social capital influences the nature and intensity of ICT’s using, and ICT influence the creation and maintenance of social capital. This link can be analyzed not only on the individual, but also on the collective level. At the same time, the existing studies on the relationship between ICT and social capital have some limitations. Among the main limitations: imbalance in the levels of analysis (individual and collective levels) in studies on the relationship between ICT and social capital; lack of theoretical explanations of link mechanism between ICT and social capital; lack of studies that summarize the current knowledge about the relationship between ICT and social capital.