A study of young people's use of social media for social capital in Mthatha, Eastern Cape

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorNaidoo, Gedala Mulliah
dc.contributor.authorMatenda, Stenford
dc.contributor.authorRugbeer, Hemduth
dc.coverageBloemfontein
dc.coverage.conferenceissn
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-10T06:20:20Z
dc.date.available2025-12-10T06:20:20Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.departmentNameCommunication Science
dc.description.abstractThe concept of social capital is gaining popularity in a context where young people are facing increasing social and economic challenges. In the same vein, social media use by this group has become pervasive. This study seeks to understand whether these social technologies now provide new opportunities for the youth in semi-rural areas to access social capital, especially since social capital is a necessity for personal and social development. A mixed-methods research design was used in this study with 331 questionnaires distributed to students in high schools and two tertiary institutions in Mthatha in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. Focus groups were conducted with the same target group. The results show that social media tools are embedded in the everyday lives of young people and that these tools are an important source of social capital. They are not being used only for dating and play, but for other everyday tasks such as learning and helping others and are a source of personal benefits. The study concludes that social media applications are an important resource for social capital and that it is important to make policy reconsiderations to ensure inclusive youth development.
dc.facultyFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
dc.format.preprintNo
dc.identifier.citationMatenda, S., Naidoo, G.M. and Rugbeer, H., 2020. A study of young people's use of social media for social capital in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. Communitas: Journal for Community Communication and Information Impact, 25, pp.1-15.
dc.identifier.issn2415-0525 (online)
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.18820/24150525/comm.v25.10
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10530/58519
dc.inproceedingsissn
dc.issuenumber25
dc.keynoteissn
dc.language.isoen
dc.pages1 - 15
dc.peerreviewedYes
dc.publisherUnit for Community Communication, University of the Orange Free State
dc.subjectSocial media
dc.subjectSocial capital
dc.subjectYouth
dc.subjectHorizontal communication
dc.subjectOnline communication
dc.titleA study of young people's use of social media for social capital in Mthatha, Eastern Cape
dc.title.journalCommunitas: Journal for Community Communication and Information Impact
dc.typeJournal Article
dspace.entity.typePublication
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationd46d2b73-586f-4ae7-9ee7-17c4fd6ef8b9
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationdcf57d3b-b726-404a-8cf5-ee0a9cfda733
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryd46d2b73-586f-4ae7-9ee7-17c4fd6ef8b9
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication8cf921d2-332c-41b8-b316-6a4beb59798b
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication.latestForDiscovery8cf921d2-332c-41b8-b316-6a4beb59798b
Files:
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Naidoo_Gedalla_2020.pdf
Size:
458.09 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format

Naidoo_Gedalla_2020.pdf (458.09 KB)

Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:

license.txt (1.71 KB)

Download
Collections: Articles