“Bridging social capital refers to social networks that bring together people of different sorts, and bonding in social capital brings together people of a similar sort.” (Norris, 2004) On the other hand the concept of social capital describes the benefits individuals derive from their social relationships and interactions: resources such as emotional support, exposure to diverse ideas, and access to non-redundant information.” (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe 2011) Both Norris and Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe has a central thing and it is connecting to people who similar to you and benefitting from it both on SNSs and offline.

The possible benefits of participating on SNSs are increasing your confidence, being able to relate to someone similar to yourself, and being comfortable engaging in conversations with random users. The main drawback to me is simply not being to merge the “online you” with the “reality you.” Online you can be whoever you want to be, but in reality it is easy to notice when someone is putting up a front/pretending to be someone they are not mainly because the confidence is not all the way there.

Norris (2004) findings were interesting when relating to my own experiences with SNSs because in Figure 2.1 on page 35 I could see how I have “become more involved with groups and organizations you already belong to,” because it has become a bonding experience; where on the other hand “connecting with people from different racial or ethnic backgrounds,” can be seen as a bridging experience. I belong to an online group and I have built great bonds with people who are half way across the U.S. From my own SNSs experiences social capital is definitely on the rise and is not falling anytime soon.