Social Networking Services (SNS) are becoming increasingly prevalent and important
instruments for users to manage their social life. For instance, Facebook is currently
the second most frequently visited website on the Internet, behind Google [Alexa 2013].
As of September 2012, there are more than 1 billion monthly active members on Facebook,
more than half of whom access Facebook via a mobile device [The Wall Street
Journal 2012]. SNS are increasingly used to maintain, enhance, and extend people’s
existing social capital online through exchanging information among friends, as well
as through making new friends. Consequently, it has been widely accepted that SNS
are an important tool for maintaining and generating social capital in modern society.
Despite this consensus, prior studies seem to offer inconsistent understanding on how
social capital is enhanced through online social networking.