Social Capital, Social Trust, and Online Fandom Spaces

• In Event: 30868 - Digital Communities, Cultural Narratives, and Social Trust

Abstract

Previous research indicates that fandom communities possess high levels of social capital. There is also an indication that despite the high correlation of social capital and social trust, fandoms might not possess the levels of social trust that would go with their high levels of social capital. Through the completion of 20 in-depth interviews, this study aims to understand “how does social capital and social trust manifest in online fan communities” and “how do online fandoms maintain high levels of social trust despite high levels of self moderation and isolation?" Interviewees discussed high levels of connectivity and the strength of various relationships they maintained through online fandom spaces. Fandom members also participated in online and offline fandom organizing. The social trust question becomes tricky with the intense levels of self-moderation and curation which takes place in fandom spaces. While this seems to show low levels of social trust, I argue it actually is a mechanism which maintains social trust by providing a barrier between the fandom member and the negative aspects of the fandom community.

Author

• Anna Sinclair, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill