Existing social capital is a prerequisite for effective online interaction

Evidence

In other words, social capital may turn out to be a prerequisite for, rather than a consequence of, effective computer-mediated communication. … Arranging to meet your spouse at the restaurant might be easily handled via computer-mediated communication, but wrangling with a new neighbor about her loud parties would not. The archetypal interaction with a new pal on the Internet lacks precisely the social embeddedness that seems essential to overcome the lack of social cues within the medium itself. Face-to-face networks tend to be dense and bounded, whereas computer-mediated communication networks tend to be sparse and unbounded. Anonymity and fluidity in the virtual world encourage “easy in, easy out,” “drive-by” relationships. That very casualness is the appeal of computer-mediated communication for some denizens of cyberspace, but it discourages the creation of social capital. If entry and exit are too easy, commitment, trustworthiness, and reciprocity will not develop. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 586

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the trust/free-rider institution literature (Milgrom’s law merchant, bourse extralegal regimes): same logic that dense, bounded relationships and costly exit are necessary for reputation to function. — connects to: Digital tools reinforce existing ties rather than create new communities — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 598; Social capital grows from participation, not prior endowment alone. — Adelin-Costin Dumitru, Forging the Resistive Republic: Social…, 49; Cooperative interaction sustains trustworthiness through ongoing institutions — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 680 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Social capital grows from participation, not prior endowment alone. #contradicts (0.85) — Adelin-Costin Dumitru, Forging the Resistive Republic, 49
• Cooperative interaction sustains trustworthiness through ongoing institutions #expands (0.72) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 680