Schlachte, Christian2016-03-092016-03-092014https://hdl.handle.net/2144/15125The purpose of this paper is to look at the effect of social media use on social capital. This paper attempts to establish a dichotomy between 'real' and 'perceived' social capital and the effect of social media use on both. I use a survey instrument measuring both the social media use and `real' social capital of one group compared with the social media use and `perceived' social capital of the second group. I find that while social media use is related with survey respondents feeling more involved politically and in their community, there is no correlation between actual political/community involvement for other respondents.en-USPolitical scienceInvolvementSocial capitalSocial mediaThesis/Dissertation2016-01-22