Bowling leagues and facebook friends: Measuring social capital in the digital age

Andrew J. Van Leuven and Trey Malone

Community Development, 2026, vol. 57, issue 4, 637-669

Abstract: The study compares the “bowling alone” method of quantifying social capital – based on the density of civic organizations and brick-and-mortar institutions – with newer approaches that draw on billions of online friendship ties to assess economic connectedness and social cohesion. Using county-level data from across the continental United States, indices of traditional and digital social capital are constructed and compared, mapping their geographic distributions and assessing their correlation. The analysis reveals that these two measures are only weakly correlated and exhibit strikingly different spatial patterns, with traditional social capital highest in rural areas and digital social capital concentrated in metropolitan regions. For the community development literature, the study tests each measure’s predictive validity against county-level outcomes such as population growth, income changes, and employment trends. Findings suggest that each measure captures complementary, non-substitutable dimensions of community connectedness, emphasizing the need for an integrated approach to understanding local social ties.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:comdev:v:57:y:2026:i:4:p:637-669

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DOI: 10.1080/15575330.2026.2661178

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