Bonding, bridging, and linking social capital and social media use: How hyperlocal social media platforms serve as a conduit to access and activate bridging and linking ties in a time of crisis

Courtney Page-Tan ()
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Courtney Page-Tan: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide Campus

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2021, vol. 105, issue 2, No 48, 2219-2240

Abstract: Abstract Social media is changing the narrative during crisis events. It has facilitated citizen-led emergency dispatch and rescue, information sharing and communication between loved ones in the moments before, during and after a disaster. Researchers of social capital have found that bonding, bridging, and linking social capital can lead to resilient outcomes. With increased use of social media on a day-to-day basis and during a crisis, we still know little about the association between social capital and online social media use. Controlling for demographic characteristics and earthquake intensity, I investigate the association bonding, bridging and linking social capital and hyperlocal social media use following the earthquake and its aftershocks. Using a quantitative cross-sectional longitudinal study across 121 Nextdoor online neighborhoods in California’s Napa Valley region across 42 days in August and September of 2014 (N = 3570), I find that bridging and linking social capital led to more online communication via Nextdoor. This finding comes with an important implication, namely, that social media can serve as a primary source of recourse for individuals and communities following a disaster. Social media platforms provide a conduit for accessing and activating bridging and linking ties that can expedite collective action in a time of need. Communities should consider policies that increase levels of social capital, well as social media platforms that can activate social ties when they are needed most.

Keywords: Social capital; Bonding; Bridging; Linking; Social media; Napa Valley; Earthquake; Nextdoor; Hyperlocal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-020-04397-8

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