Social capital and social networks

Abstract Introduction Social capital can be defined as the ’sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of networks or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition’. Nowadays there are a number of new way to have social relationship. Developing community and individual social capital is an important aspect for health promotion in order to decrease social isolation and health inequalities. Methods This research aims to detect to what extend online social networks can help in building social capital and decrease social isolation. An analysis of the content of an open Facebook group of people who are experiencing chronic diseases was carried out (7912 individuals). Results Text mining analysis was carried out, as well as a content analysis in order to identify which kind of social support and social capital emerged among participants. Results based on text mining (234.943 words) and thematic analysis (information, relationship, support) show that even virtual social group have an important impact on participants’ wellbeing and health. Participants seems to develop through participation all construct of social capital i.e. bonding, bridging and linking social capital. There is an overall increase in confidence and sense of community. However, virtual communication seems lacking of a number of crucial aspect of human interaction such as face to face communication or physical contact. Conclusions The use of social network as a new place of aggregation and socialization is an important aspect to look at. Virtual networks can have a role in developing relationship and to build trustiness on individuals. Public Health and Health Promotion, as well as health care professionals should be aware and concern about social capital as a key aspect of health and explore in depth the role of new social networks as a new way to build social capital and health of individuals and communities. Key messages Text mining as new useful tools for health research. Social capital and social network intersection.