Cliff Lampe, University of Michigan

The social network site Facebook provides many tools that enable people to access a broad network of people. One activity that people engage in on the site is mobilizing resources, or using the site to request different types of help from their network. In a series of studies, we have examined the type and frequency of resources people seek from their networks on Facebook, and how their impressions of social capital on the site are associated with those processes. Using a combination of surveys, interviews, and data derived from Facebook posts, we show that bonding social capital is associated with help-seeking on Facebook, and that mobilizing resources is major activity on the site.