The Impact of Mobile Phone Use on Individual Social Capital

Mobile phones have been diffusing worldwide at an astonishing rate. They provide individuals with unprecedented connectivity to information and inter-personal interaction, and thus are expected to enhance social capital. This paper sets out to present an investigation focusing on the impact of mobile phone use on individual social capital. Based on the case studies conducted in Australia and South Korea, we find that mobile communications, facilitated by mobility and portability of mobile computing, can have a positive impact on individual social capital and the degree of the impact largely depends on an individual´s mobile phone use pattern. We then discuss the implications of the study and make suggestions for future research.