family social capital among adolescents that are users and non-users of social media

Background: considering the time spent with family is essential for the growth and development of adolescents, the replacement of these times with using social media can raise questions. objectives: this study addressed the question of whether there is a difference in family social capital between adolescents that are users and non-users of social media. methods: data were collected from 3600 adolescents aged 12 - 19 years in isfahan, iran, using a cross-sectional study design with stratified, 2-stage cluster sampling. participants were recruited from schools and surveyed between january and march 2017. family social capital was assessed using a researcher-made questionnaire with adequate validity and reliability. the independent 2-sample t-test, kruskal-wallis test, 1-way analysis of variance (anova), and games-howell post hoc test were used to analyze the data. results: more than 76% of the adolescents were social media users. males reported higher membership rates compared to females. there was a meaningful difference between themeanscores in all dimensions of family social capital, including family interactions, family cohesion, family monitoring, and family conflicts (p < 0.001), and the non-user group scored better in these dimensions. there were gender-based differences between some dimensions of family social capital (p < 0.05). there were no statistically meaningful differences between the frequencies of users in the 3 socioeconomic classes of the study (p > 0.05). some dimensions of family social capital, including family cohesion and family monitoring, were better in users from higher socioeconomic classes (p < 0.05). conclusions: the results indicate a difference in the family social capital between adolescents that are users and non-users of social media.