Testing the Stimulation Versus the Displacement Hypothesis

Patti M. Valkenburg
Jochen Peter
The Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR)
University of Amsterdam

Abstract
The aim of this study was to contrast the validity of two opposing explanatory hypotheses about the effect of online communication on adolescents’ well-being. The displacement hypothesis predicts that online communication reduces adolescents’ well-being because it displaces [...]

This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, a popular online social network site, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. In addition to assessing bonding and bridging social capital, we explore a dimension of social capital that assesses one’s ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited community, which we [...]