1.

0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

These days social sites attracting the attention of general people. Millions of people are
using social sites in their daily life. There are thousands of social sites with wide range of
features. But the few are playing dominant role in the field of social sites. Facebook,
myspace ,cyworld , bebo ,twitter,hi5 attraced the millions of users. Especially facebook
and twitter are the craziest site of present time. These sites provide individual to present
themselves , articulate their social networks and establish or maintain connection with
others.

Social network site generally define as web based service that allow
individual to –(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bound system (2)
articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection (3) view and traverse
their list of connections and those made by others within the system(citation from Journal
of Computer-Mediated Communication). The nature of these connections may vary from
site to site.

What makes social sites unique is ,it enables users to articulate and
make visible their social sites. After joining an social network sites ( SNS), an individual
is asked to fill out forms containing a series of questions . The profile is generated using
the answers to those questions , which typically include descriptions such as AGE, SEX,
LOCATION, INTEREST and an “ABOUT ME “ section. They encourage to upload
profile. Users can enhance their profile by using application (modules) and they can make
it secure by using privacy setting tools.
 Users of social network sites can upload pictures , music files ,videos
in their account. It is expensive to create website for general people so social network
sites are the best alternatives for them.

Without paying a single penny user of these sites can upload pictures, videos and put
their opinion. Not only this ,user can link various sites in their account.

Social network site (SNS) do not have long history. The first recognizable social network
site launched in 1997 (sixdegree.com) which allowed users to create profiles, list their
friends. It attracted millions of users but it failed to become sustainable and in 2000 it
collapsed. From 1997 to 2004 thousands of social sites came into exist with different
features and applications. But after the launch of FaceBook in 2004 ( In the beginning it
was only used in Harvard) ,social site took it’s height.

An overview of Face Book

Created in 2004 , by 2007 faceBook was reported to have more than 21 million
registered members generating 1.6 billion page views each day (Needham & Company ,
2007) . By 2010 it is reported to have 60 million users of faceBook (up to 2010 august )
which shows its craze in general people. If we talk about Nepalese scenario, around 0.6
million people use FaceBook. FaceBook become daily routine for youth of urban area.
They start their day with a new status in Face Book and end their day with next status.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Social network site become the part of urban people. Facebook, hi5, twitter are very
much popular in Nepal. Specifically facebook is the most used social site. There is a large
number of people who spend most of their time on these sites. .Around 0.6 million
Nepalese have face book account. Most of them are youth. So it is necessary to analyze
the consequences of these social sites on society. Is it helping people to build social
capital or just wasting their time?

Our society is very much vulnerable; a small rumor can create a big
disaster in society so we should be informed about all these things. People are busy on
uploading videos and pictures in social sites. But they are not aware of hackers who can
use those videos and pictures to create scandal. There are many unsocial users of social
sites who posts nonsense files in their account and tag them to other users not only this
they post nonsense comment in others status. These sorts of activities affect the society
very badly.

On the other hand it is supporting to increase social capital. Through social

sites people are discussing on hot issue of society whether it is social, economic or
political. And they are providing remedies for those issues. People are sharing knowledge
through facebook and they are posting the current news on their page. So those who are
far from print media can easily get information about current news.

Facebook is helping to connect the people. It is working as a bridge to connect the

people from different area. A large number of people from Nepal are staying on abroad
so it has been working as a medium of sharing their feeling with family.

Apart from this , facebook also has economic value. Through advertisement in facebook
page we can promote our business. Especially in the context of Nepal , we can promote
our touristic destination. It can be the cheapest way to inform foreigner about Nepal and
its natural beauty.

Considering the above mention things there may arise some research questions. Which
are as follows?

• Is there any relation between social sites and social capital?

• Is there any relation between social sites and economic development?

1.3 Objective of the Study

The general objective of the study is to examine and analyze the socio- economic impact
of social network sites in society with the following specific objectives.

• To analyze the role of facebook on social capital formation.

 • To analyze the economic impact of facebook on society

• To examine the scope of the social network sites to promote Nepalese tourism

1.4 Limitation of the Study

This study has the following limitations.

• This study covers only the facebook user of tribhuvan university

• This study is not attempted to examine the effect of other social sites.

• This study gives emphasis only on socio-economic impact of facebook.

2.0 Literature Review

Some research related to social sites has been done in international arena. But
they are basically related with social capital or economic analysis individually.

Literature review at international level.

The Internet has been linked both to increases and decreases in social capital. Nie (2001),
for example, argued that Internet use detracts from face-to-face time with others, which
might diminish an individual's social capital. However, this perspective has received
strong criticism (Bargh & McKenna, 2004). Moreover, some researchers have claimed
that online interactions may supplement or replace in-person interactions, mitigating any
loss from time spent online (Wellman, Haase, Witte, & Hampton, 2001). Indeed, studies
of physical (e.g., geographical) communities supported by online networks, such as the
Netville community in Toronto or the Blacksburg Electronic Village, have concluded that
computer-mediated interactions have had positive effects on community interaction,
involvement, and social capital (Hampton & Wellman, 2003; Kavanaugh, Carroll,
Rosson, Zin, & Reese, 2005).

Social capital broadly refers to the resources accumulated through the

relationships among people (Coleman, 1988). Social capital is an elastic term with a
variety of definitions in multiple fields (Adler & Kwon, 2002), conceived of as both a
cause and an effect (Resnick, 2001; Williams, 2006). Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992)
define social capital as "the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an
individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less
institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition" (p. 14).

For the purpose of analyzing economic impact, basically about the promotion
of tourism through social sites ,this literature can be fruitful.

Concord, New Hampshire, December 30, 2009 – In just two months, New
Hampshire travelers, lodging properties and state tourism officials have all seen the
positive impact of the VisitNH Fan Benefit on Facebook. Since launching the VisitNH
Fan Benefit in November, the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism
Development (DTTD) has almost doubled its fans on Facebook, with a 45% increase to
the VisitNH fan page. Lodging properties have seen a call volume increase of 5%
resulting in higher sales. To date, over 2,700 people now receive exclusive discounts at
NH properties and attractions as Facebook fans and that number continues to grow.

The Division of Travel and Tourism Development, as

part of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development,
works with the state’s seven travel regions to increase visitation, travel and visitor
expenditures in order to expand business activity and employment throughout the state.
The division is responsible for domestic and international advertising and public
relations, literature publication and distribution, www.visitnh.gov administration, grant
administration and research to monitor and measure the impact of travel and tourism to
the state.

3.0 Methodology

A systematic research needs a proper methodology to achieve the predetermined

objectives. Research methodology is a sequential procedure and methods to be carried
out in a systematic study.

3.1 Research design

This study is based on primary as well as secondary data of facebook users and the
approach of this study would be analytical as well as descriptive. This study will
examine the socio-economic impact of social network site through the case study of
Facebook user of Kathmandu valley.

3.2 sources of data

This study would be based on primary as well as secondary data and information
collected from various sources such as:

• Facebook user of Kathmandu valley

• Information from search engine

• Newspapers , Journals etc.

• Other published and unpublished seminar papers

3.3 . statistical Tools

In order to support the study, different statistical tools such as percentage , ratio
,regression analysis, and hypothesis testing will be carried out.

To show relation between social sites and social capital and expenditure on social sites,
OLS method will be used. Set of relevant variables: social capital, expenditure on social
sites are taken as independent variables and social site will be taken as dependent
variable.

Thus, we postulate an empirical model

Si= β i+βi1X1+…….. +βikXk+μi

Where i= (male/female)

k= no. of independent variables

x= independent variables

S=dependent variables

μ= error term
4.0 Bibliography

Boyd, d. m & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and
scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11.

Cachia Romaina, (2008). Social computing: Study on the Use and Impact of Online
Social Networking

Ellison Nicole B., Charles and Lampe Steinfield Cliff, (2007). “The Benefits of
Facebook ‘‘Friends:’’ Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social
Network Sites”. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication