Q.1.3 Organisations such as Facebook, Airbnb and Uber have harnessed social capital to grow their market shares and become major disruptive forces in their industries. Define and explain how a digital citizen can build and enhance social capital.

Source: Impact Report (2015). Available: http://impactreport-coact.org.au/building-social-capital.html, accessed 31 March 2017

Social capital is the collective value of all social networks (such as facebook, linkedin, twitter) and the benefits these bring in our lives. The diagram above shows all the benefits that come from social capital: a sense of belonging, bonding, feeling of trust and safety, reciprocity, participation, citizen proactivity, our values and norms, and diversity. The digital divide impacts social capital, therefore by decreasing the digital divide by providing more people with access to internet and computers, this will help build the social capital (The Independent Institute of Education, 2016).

Resources: 
The Independent Institute of Education (2016). Digital Citizenship Module Manual DIGC5110W. The Independent Institute of Education: Unpublished.