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New social media such as Facebook and Google+ are web-based communication platforms that enable socially meaningful interactions between contacts in the virtual space (Ellison et al. 2014). Studies show that new social media are particularly conducive to social capital development, as they offer its users the possibility of creating heterogeneous, extremely large electronic social networks (Hampton et al. 2011). This article presents the results of a quantitative research study on the social capital and trust of the Lithuanian population in the electronic social networks. The study used an adapted D. Williams' Internet Social Capital Scale (2006).

AbstractWhat role does social media play in social movements and political unrest? Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google have all been cited as important components in social revolutions, including those in Tunisia, Egypt, Iceland, Spain, and the global Occupy movement. This essay explores social science claims about the relationship between social networking and social movements. It examines research done on the relationship between social networking, the promotion of activism, and the offline participation in the streets. Can the technology of social networking help activists to achieve their goals? If so, is it just one of many tools they may use, or is the technology so powerful that the right use will actually tip the scales in favor of the social movement? This scholarship divides into optimistic, pessimistic, and ambivalent approaches, turning on an oft‐repeated question: will the revolution be tweeted?

AbstractThe growing impact of new media around the world has been the subject of study by scores of scientists in multidisciplinary fields. Satellite TV and the Internet have been viewed as instruments of social and political change — connecting communities, educating the youth, and creating social networks previously unaccounted for, like virtual groups. However, in the Arab World and the Middle East, such technological developments have been hailed as tools for the empowerment of marginalized communities such as women and the youth, also brought new opportunities that have resulted in the breaking of the communication monopoly by those in power and the creation of a new communication environment. Such environment has — as part of its manifestations — the current social transformations that the region is witnessing. Drawing on examples from social media networks used in Tunisia and Egypt, this article analyzes the extent to which new technologies have changed the rules of the game regarding public opinion construction and the communication flow traditionally monopolized by the hegemonic power structures in Arab society. This study not only reveals the decisiveness of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the Arab Spring countries' revolutions, but also the extent to which their availability served in a complex manner the democratic transition that Tunisia have been undergoing and the political turmoil that Egypt is witnessing. Furthermore this study argues that such online spheres of communication mark the emergence of the virtual yet vibrant space of political campaigning and social empowerment, especially for the youth and marginalized communities.

It has been argued that the applied nature of social work renders the appreciation of social theory by practitioners as unnecessary. This paper takes issue with this controversial stance and shows how social work itself can not be understood outside of the social context in which it is located. This social context, however, is said to be changing: the world in which we currently inhabit is vastly different to that of our immediate forbears. This has prompted social work theorists to consider the implications for the profession and the role of practitioners. This paper reflects upon the underpinning principles of the competing perspectives and concludes that, given the complexities involved as well as the responsibilities with which social workers are charged, social theory is an essential component of the practitioner's education.

Background:This article explores the relationship between social class and social media use and draws on the work of Pierre Bourdieu in examining class in terms of social, economic, and cultural capital. The article starts from a prior finding that those who predominantly only use social media formed a higher proportion of Internet users from lower socioeconomic groups. Data: The article draws on data from two nationally representative U.K. surveys, the OfCom (Office of Communications) Media Literacy Survey ( n ≈ 1,800 per annum) and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's Taking Part Survey ( n ≈ 10,000 per annum). Methods: Following Yates, Kirby, and Lockley, five types of Internet behavior and eight types of Internet user are identified utilizing principal components analysis and k-means clustering. These Internet user types are then examined against measures of social, economic, and cultural capital. Data on forms of cultural consumption and digital media use are examined using multiple correspondence analysis. Findings: The article concludes that forms of digital media use are in correspondence with other social, cultural, and economic aspects of social class status and contemporary social systems of distinction.