Social media capital and civic engagement: Does type of connection matter?

This study examines the relationship between a person’s social media capital and civic engagement, focusing on the networks formed via two social network sites (SNSs) of Facebook and Twitter. The analysis of the survey data on young people’s social media use and civic engagement in the U.S. shows that, although all three types of online social ties (Facebook Friends, Twitter followers, and people one follows on Twitter) are positively associated with civic engagement, there are differences across the different types of connections. The findings reveal that Twitter social capital is more strongly associated with participation in political organizations while Facebook social capital is more strongly associated with participation in non-political charitable organizations. Between Twitter followers and following, the number of people one follows is more strongly associated with participation in both types of organizations than the number of one’s followers. These findings suggest that nonprofit managers take a platform-specific approach when using social media for marketing and stakeholder involvement.