A social net? Internet and social media use during unemployment

Bibliographic Data

ID2373835
AuthorsMiriam Feuls (0000-0002-5868-2847, Berlin University of the Arts), Christian Fieseler (0000-0002-2466-3867, BI Norwegian Business School), Anne Suphan (University of St.Gallen)
Year2014
Volume28
Issue4
Pages551-570
Publication date2014-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0950017013519846
OpenAlexW2166174209
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited38

Many people who are unemployed tend to experience forms of psychological and social losses, including a weakened time structure, diminished social contacts, an absence of collective purpose, falling status, and inactivity. This article focuses on the experience of diminished social contacts and addresses whether social media help the unemployed maintain their relationships. Based on qualitative interviews with unemployed individuals, the article identifies various types of social support networks and their impact on individual experiences of inclusion and exclusion. Although the unemployed use social media to cultivate their social support networks, the opportunity to establish new contacts, both private and professional, is underutilized. Thus, social network differentiation between the unemployed and employed persists online in social media

Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Public relations · Social exclusion · Social media · Social network (sociolinguistics · Sociology · The Internet · Unemployment · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Employment and Welfare Studies · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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