Power of Online Social Network Capital: The Case of South Korea.

This study firstly aimed at finding out some important factors that exert influences on status aspiration. Second, the relationships among economic capital, human capital, and social network capital were analyzed. Third, the functions and characteristics of online social network capital were compared with those of offline social network capital. Finally, I examined whether online social network capital affects status aspiration. These research questions were tested by surveying 512 college students in South Korea. The results showed that the online social network capital formed or maintained in online communities was positively associated with status aspiration. These results can be explained by the fact that the members of online communities frequently exchange emotional support as well as informational one. Even adolescents lacking offline social network capital could achieve alternative or complimentary social network capital through online community activities. These findings let us expect that the Internet can function as a liberating medium in this era, when knowledge or information plays a pivotal role in acquiring and maintaining social power. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]