Social Capital: The Social Net Worth
The Social Net Worth: Defining Social Capital
Social capital is social net worth. Net worth is what a person owns that is significant minus what they owe in debt. Social capital is the value that a person contributes to a community of personal or professional networks. Social capital is about who you know (the size, quality, and diversity of your followers). We invest in other people’s lives to make them feel more valuable.
According to Anthony Giddens, social capital “refers to trust networks that individuals can draw on for social support, just as financial capital can be drawn upon to be used for investment… social capital can be expanded — invested and reinvested,” (Johnson and Percy-Smith 322). For example, as social media users, we gain social capital every time we gain a follower and follow them back in return — we are mutually invested in each other’s profile. Beyond that, if a person continue to mutually invest their time, energy, and effort (aka liking, commenting, or engaging with us in any way on social media), we reinvest in them again and again.
To explain this further, there are three forms of social capital. Coleman says these are 1) obligations, expectations, and trustworthiness of structures, 2) information channels, and 3) norms and effective sanctions (Johnson and Percy-Smith 323).
Obligations, expectations, and trustworthiness is simple and references the mutual benefit point I made earlier. We expect and feel obligated to conform to social norms (i.e. liking a person’s post because they liked ours, following someone back because they followed us, and so on). We reciprocate the same amount of social capital others give us.
Information channels has to do with trust in accurate information. We want to know that other social media users are not falsifying any aspects of their profiles; while there aren’t many ways for us to check if a person is real or being real, we trust that they will follow the norms (honest, respect, and trust that they will display their true self).
Norms and effective sanctions are best described by Coleman who states: “Individuals are prepared to take risks because they are confident that others will do likewise at some point in the future,” (Johnson and Percy-Smith 323). We risk putting ourselves out there — on the Internet, that is — because we know other people will also take this risk to develop social capital. So, why are some people “better” at gaining social capital than others?
The Strategic Altering of Reality: How Users Gain Social Capital on Instagram
Gaining social capital is a strategic process. Social media influencers alter their reality to appeal to a mass audience. In order to gain this social capital, influencers approach social media differently. They do not view social media as a platform to post what they are doing in their regular lives; rather, they see social media as a platform to develop their brand to increase their social capital in a way that alters reality. The process involves creating consistency, recognizability, and dependability.
Consistency has to do with conforming to the brand the influencer developed for themselves. Influencers post the right content regularly at the right time for their brand. They use sponsored posts, product reviews, and targeted advertising to reach the right people using the right content.
Recognizability has to do with distinguishing their brand from all the other brands of the same topic. Influencers use the right filters and angles for their photos to make their content seem structured. They vary their captions, emojis, and hashtags in a familiar way. They post good quality photos and videos that have identifiable aspects of their brand and message.
Dependability has to do with the influencer’s trustworthiness and reliableness. Influences engage with their audience regularly with their posts, stories, and Instagram TV. They post regularly, but not every day. They run giveaways that increase their likes, comments, and shares.
The Bucket List Family: An Example of Social Capital
The Bucket List Family developed social capital quickly after Garrett Gee sold Scan, his mobile-scanning app, to Snapchat for $54 million. That’s right $54 million. Now, Garrett, Jessica (his wife), and Dorothy, Manilla, and Calihan (their three kids) travel the world — and get paid to do so in money and social capital (to read more about their story, click the link).
The Bucket List Family has acquired over 2.4 million followers on their Instagram. How did they acquire this social capital? The Gee family created consistency, recognizability, and dependability on Instagram. They have consistent content that is visually appealing, regularly shared, and well-sponsored. They have a recognizable brand that is structured and planned in a way that is identifiable. Most importantly, they have a community that depends on them for interesting content.
Robert Putnam says, “The fact that community levels of human and social capital appear to increase happiness, while the reverse is true for income, suggests to me that returns from human and social capital are far broader than whatever positive effects they may have on material standards of living,” (Putnam 13). Money can’t buy happiness (I’d argue that in the case of the Bucket List Family, $$$ did). However, social capital can lead to happiness for free (for everyone) if we invest in the right people in the right ways.
References
Johnston, Gordon, and Janie Percy-Smith. “In Search of Social Capital.” Policy & Politics, vol. 31, no. 3, Jan. 2003, pp. 321–334.
Putnam, Robert. “Social Capital: Measurement and Consequences.” Canadian Journal of Policy Research, vol. 2, Dec. 2010, pp. 1–15.
