Interactive Learning Environments

ISSN: 1049-4820 (Print) 1744-5191 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nile20

The influence of online social networks and online

social capital on constructing a new graduate
students’ professional identity

Elham Heidari, Ghasem Salimi & Mahboobe Mehrvarz

To cite this article: Elham Heidari, Ghasem Salimi & Mahboobe Mehrvarz (2020): The influence
of online social networks and online social capital on constructing a new graduate students’
professional identity, Interactive Learning Environments, DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2020.1769682

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1769682

Published online: 27 May 2020.

Submit your article to this journal

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=nile20
INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1769682

The influence of online social networks and online social capital on

constructing a new graduate students’ professional identity
Elham Heidaria, Ghasem Salimi a,b
and Mahboobe Mehrvarza
a
Department of Educational Administration & Planning, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran; bSchool of Education and
Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Studies have revealed that individuals’ identities can be shaped not only Received 12 September 2019
offline but also online. However, the formation of online identity of Accepted 17 April 2020
students in higher education environments is complex. Empirical
KEYWORDS
evidence has suggested that academics are interested in using social Online social networks;
media to enhance their professional identity and reputation. The current online social capital;
study examined the effects of online social capital and social networking professional identity;
on the formation of graduate students’ professional identity. Structural graduate students; digital
equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. The identity formation
sample consisted of 298 graduate students from one leading public
university and three private higher education centers in Iran. The results
showed that online social networks in higher education environments
could affect the construction of students’ professional identity through
online social capital as a mediator.

Introduction
Nowadays individual needs to communicate with each other, one of these ways is to communicate
through social capital, Social capital consists of resources embedded in the social structure that can
be achieved through purposeful action (Brown et al., 2009). In this context, people with different
backgrounds follow each other, and close relationships are formed on networks, and in this way com-
munication mechanisms in social networks help to form and facilitate relationships between individ-
uals (Grottke et al., 2018; Mou & Lin, 2017). Due to the rapid growth of social sites such as Twitter,
LinkedIn, and Facebook in the virtual world, social commerce is considered to be an important emer-
ging phenomenon in these networks (Horng et al., 2016). Instagram, like other social networking
websites, allows users to build diverse and heterogeneous relationships by following others (Paige
et al., 2017).
Nowadays, social networking activities have increased widely (Maguire, 2016; Zaina et al., 2014).
Internet users are increasingly becoming members of these networks (Horng et al., 2016). Although
social networking is not a new concept, its popularity is increasing with increasing engagement in
virtual communities and electronic environments (Zaina et al., 2014). The web has had a profound
impact on how people interact with online social networks that certainly play an important role in
changing or enhancing our relationship with others (Jordan & Weller, 2018; Zaina et al., 2014). Indi-
viduals use Social Networking Site (SNS) not only to maintain relationships happening in reality online
but also to discover new relationships based on shared interests (Mochen & Xunhua, 2013). The most
recent findings show the largest social networks in early 2017: Facebook is the most popular social
media in the world with a total of 1,871 billion users by 2017(Chaffery, 2018), QQ (877), WeChat (846),

CONTACT Ghasem Salimi Salimi@shirazu.ac.ir School of Education and Psychology, Shiraz University, Eram Square, Shiraz,
Iran
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

QZone (632), and Instagram (600) (Fischer, 2017(. With the recent development of SNSs, such as Face-
book, Twitter, Myspace, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, many researchers, educators, and students regularly
use SNSs to achieve different goals (Veletsianos, 2011). Thus, in the context of learning, we are wit-
nessing a growing acceptance of social networks to support classroom activities (Zaina et al., 2014)
and tools to support learning in different environments (Craig, 2007). Hence, educators and teachers
believe that in learning environments, SNSs can be of great value (Kimmons & Veletsianos, 2014). In
these environments, ideas are shared and important topics are discussed (Dabbagh & Reo, 2011). In
the Internet era, all kinds of social media, such as blogs, SNSs, and social forums, have become a
popular gathering place for the emergence of a new form of social capital called virtual social
capital (Nguyen et al., 2013). With their emergence, SNSs have become a prominent topic in compu-
ter-mediated communication and online social media research (Grottke et al., 2018).
Social capital can be defined as the resources that are embedded in a social network and can be
obtained by linking to the network (Lin et al., 2001). Using these SNSs contributes to the development
of social capital (Abbas & Mesch, 2018), and SNS members can operate through interpersonal social
activities built on apps, social life, and social capital developers (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). These networks
allow individuals to participate and mediate in their content and interact with others. As such, social
capital is potentially generated in online environments as digital social capital (Mandarano et al.,
2010). Existing studies have noted a positive relationship between social media use and individual
social capital (Ellison et al., 2007), as well as a strong positive relationship between SNSs use and
online social capital (Antoci et al., 2012). Hence, social capital and social networks are seen as a
financial advantage, and companies benefit from social capital because it facilitates a kind of collab-
oration that minimizes interaction costs (Abbas & Mesch, 2018). Therefore, those with weak social net-
works can freely express themselves and build new relationships online. SNSs also play an important
role in maintaining communication with offline social capital and are also useful for developing new
links (Pénard & Poussing, 2010). However, most online links are based on a previous offline connec-
tion (Antoci et al., 2012). The impact of social networks is not only important in building online and
offline social capital, but it is also important in developing and consolidating the relationship, made
possible through SNSs, between the participants and their identity (Kimmons & Veletsianos, 2014;
Maghrabi et al., 2014). Social networks can be the key to presenting your identity and behavior in
online cultures (Stokes & Price, 2017) because people can use any of these sites to portray their
own identities or interact with others within the same sites (Maghrabi et al., 2014). Accordingly,
researchers have argued that identity is shaped in digital locations like SNSs (Wenger et al., 2009).
SNSs are unique environments that can influence people’s identity presentation, thereby increasing
the likelihood of perverse social capital formation (Maghrabi et al., 2014).
People also use professional SNSs, like LinkedIn, ResearchGate and Academia.edu, to seize the
available opportunities and create professional networks and professional online profiles (Donelan,
2016). Early evidence, on the other hand, has shown that academics are interested in using social
media to enhance their professional identity and interact with broader communities to generate
increased interest in their work (Knight & Kaye, 2016). In social media, it is sometimes the only
choice; in many respects, it is not only an unavoidable but an expected way of life (Davis, 2016).
However, the real impact of the Internet on social capital and the formation of individuals’ pro-
fessional identity is undeniable. Despite such promising possibilities and inevitable reality, there is
little empirical evidence on the application of SNSs in educational settings (Kimmons & Veletsianos,
2014). This, nevertheless, has not prevented researchers from using SNSs in education. The relation-
ship between SNS and online social capital has attracted much attention today (Grottke et al., 2018).
However, a research gap can be identified in the existing literature. Few studies have examined the
relationship between online social capital and social networks or the effect of social networks on the
formation of students’ identities in the university settings. Hence, how online social networks and
online social capital may be linked with students’ professional identity has not been empirically
investigated yet. Therefore, the present study aimed to study the effects of online social capital
and social networks on the construction of the professional identity of graduate students.
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 3

Theoretical framework
Online social networks or OSNSs
Online social network sites (OSNSs), are mass communication websites that must be distinguished
from other social media services, such as content communities or virtual game worlds (Smith
et al., 2017). These networks allow individuals to (1) create a public or semi-public profile in a
restricted system, (2) provide a list of users with whom they share content, and (3) view and navigate
their list of connections and those made by others within the same system (Boyd & Ellison, 2007).
OSNSs take the Internet as a platform that enables online users to connect with each other by
passing through others’ personal information and profiles, inviting friends and colleagues to have
access to some files, and sending instant messages, including online videos to friends (Boyd &
Ellison, 2007; Horng et al., 2016). Mochen and Xunhua (2013) reviewed the recent studies and sum-
marized the four functions of SNSs as follows: Personal profile-related functions, relationship devel-
opment functions, interaction function through messages and comments, and sharing information
and content function. Faucher (2018) noted that when we talk about networks, they can be under-
stood in two senses: networks as structural (digital network architecture) and networks as social
(human interaction, group dynamics, and social media computer-mediated communication). In
their study, Burke et al. (2011) made a distinction between three types of social networking activi-
ties: Direct communication with personal friends, passive use of social news, and dissemination
and distribution of information. There are various incentives for using social networking sites; a
wide range of possible motivations, including making new friends, generating career interests,
building relationships, maintaining information about events, developing existing relationships
(Donelan, 2016), commenting, liking and chatting (Arampatzi et al., 2018), may be involved in pro-
moting professional communication. A significant increase has been reported in online social par-
ticipation (Sabatini & Sarracino, 2014), which generally involves a constructive relationship between
individuals (Wang, 2013). At SNSs, people are involved in social learning, recognizing which image
has been “successful” and accepted by their peers manifested through liking, sharing, and positive
comments (Stokes & Price, 2017). Many of these online social networks have emerged with a
variety of purposes including professional contacts (LinkdIn), text messaging (Twitter), video
sharing (YouTube), and MySpace, Facebook, and Orkut for public sharing of information (Zaina
et al., 2014). LinkedIn allows people to interact with the professional space and make suggestions
for dealing successfully with the future of their business, meeting new clients, or connecting with
related audiences (Maguire, 2016). Similarly, Instagram allows personal pages of individuals, organ-
izations, and profiles to be seen and liked by people and the world around them (Boyd, 2010;
Maguire, 2016), leading to the creation of new relationships and maintenance of existing links
(Ellison et al., 2007; Maghrabi et al., 2014).
These programs include status updates, posts, group discussions, and comments on other
people’s pages. These applications provide access to various resources, including emotional
support and information about their connections to the site (Vitak & Ellison, 2013). Twitter also pro-
motes forums and discussions (Maguire, 2016), as well as partnerships, communication, and
exchange of ideas between users who share interests (Donelan, 2016; van Zoonen et al., 2016;
Zaina et al., 2014). Many researchers have acknowledged that online communication, including activi-
ties on SNSs such as Facebook and Twitter (Boyd & Ellison, 2007), is gradually replacing traditional
social interactions, such as face-to-face communication (Arampatzi et al., 2018). SNSs have become
popular media for online communication (Horng et al., 2016; Nguyen et al., 2013).
In addition to the abundance of OSNSs usage and the structural features of the Facebook Friends
network, the ways people use OSNSs seem to be very important (Grottke et al., 2018). On the other
hand, studies have shown that technology and software technologies do not in themselves affect the
social capital of individuals, but rather the specific ways in which these technologies are used (Lee
et al., 2016).
4 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

Online social capital

In an attempt to define social capital, Braudt (2014) divided social capital into four separate concep-
tual structures, namely, online-bonding, online-bridging, offline-bonding, and offline-bridging social
capital. Online social capital is defined as the characteristics of an individual’s social network and
the potential resources that can be obtained from the network (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992), as
well as the quantitative assessment of social capital through the Internet of things (Stern &
Adams, 2010). In general, online social capital refers to all communications and resources available
through the Internet while offline social capital refers to the social relationships and resources that
are materialized via face-to-face and offline social connections (Abbas & Mesch, 2018). According
to a study by Geys and Murdoch (2010), there are two different types of social capital, including brid-
ging and bonding. “Bonding” social capital stems from the idea that these relationships allow indi-
viduals to interact through interests, resources, geographic space, and groups that are otherwise
unavailable (Braudt, 2014).
Social capital “bonding” is developed between individuals in highly intertwined societies, such as
family and even close friends who share similar races (Chen & Meng, 2015). On the other hand, a large
number of weak and heterogeneous links traveling in different cycles create bridging social capital
that may provide useful information or new insights but usually lack emotional support. (Paige
et al., 2017) In other words, as Granovetter (1973) put it, “bridging” social capital is apparently exter-
nal and is based on heterogeneous networks with weak links (Grottke et al., 2018). Many social net-
works are not restricted to either bonding or bridging relationships but usually include both bonding
and bridging aspects (Maghrabi et al., 2014).

Professional identity
Identity consists of three domains which are influenced and developed by each other. These three
domains are individual identity, communication identity, and collective identity (Cruess et al., 2015).
Also, identity can be defined as a perceived concept through which one can discover one’s own
and others’ characteristics. Accordingly, identity is a complex phenomenon in which multiple iden-
tities can be understood, including both personal and social identity (Ibarra & Petriglieri, 2010), and
work identity and professional identity (Dewane, 2006).
Scholar (2017) explored how human-made objects and artifacts could have important meanings,
helping us to identify identity in social work that could reflect professional identity. As such, the sense
of self does not exist in the vacuum, but rather through these existential and social components. Pro-
fessionals need to develop their understanding of who they are and how they interact with others in
their professional world (Scanlon, 2011). This sense of self is a person’s professional identity, a sense
of connection with the profession and within it (Sutherland & Markauskaite, 2012).
In medical education, the studies have revealed that the components of reciprocity, reflection,
relationships, and resilience have an impact on the formation of professional identity and the
quality of interactions between these components play a vital role in the formation of professional
identity. Accordingly, academics strive to support and guide students in the development of pro-
fessional identity by providing and implementing standard curricula (Wald, 2015).
Studies have shown that people’s identities can be shaped not only offline but also online. Online
identities can be complex and dispersed, and instead of the face-to-face interactions between people
who come together and talk to each other, personalities and profile photos that people share are
always alive and interacting in specific spaces. If the profile photos of people are not the same or
there is actually no profile photo, they can communicate with multiple identities or anonymously,
respectively (Davis, 2016).
However, the issue of digital identity formation has been the focus of some studies and accord-
ingly, some studies have pointed to the importance of shaping the phenomenon of digital identity
formation as a psychological and sociological process and emphasize the role of networked learning
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 5

in digital environments in shaping individuals’ digital identities (Bozkurt & Tu, 2016). These studies
have attempted to address how people develop and create a sense of self and belonging in net-
worked learning environments (Koole & Parchoma, 2013).
It should be noted that social presence theory (SPT) is one of the fundamental theories of pro-
fessional identity formation and refers to the presence of individuals in the real or virtual world to
interact with others as a real person (Bickle et al., 2019). This theory also refers to the degree of sal-
ience or sense of the presence of others in different media (Whiteside et al., 2017) that can create and
develop personal and emotional relationships by influencing individuals’ personalities. (Garrison,
2016). Extensive social presence through social media can foster trust, communication, collaboration,
and team performance. This level of social presence can affect the quality of interaction and virtual
outcomes (Bickle et al., 2019).
Thus, it can be argued that the widespread presence of people in virtual social networks can
provide a platform for interaction with professionals in any field and thus become acquainted
with their views, values, and abilities and thereby create them, and in this way, it will affect the indi-
vidual’s personality and influence their professional identity formation.

The relationship between online social capital, online social networks, and professional
identity
Today, the boundaries that separate the real and the virtual world are fading away, with social actors
moving in and out of different domains, transforming different forms of capital into one another
(Malaby, 2006). For example, with regard to Twitter, Ye et al. (2012) found that social capital could
be transferred from the real world to the virtual world. Furthermore, some researchers have
studied social capital in various types of virtual communities, such as virtual learning communities
(Daniel et al., 2003) and OSNSs, (Ellison et al., 2007).
Some studies have noted that our social networks have created different types of social capital
within themselves (Grottke et al., 2018), but others have regarded social capital as an antecedent
in the use of social networks and perceived social capital as a consequence of social networking
activities (Yoon, 2014). The resources we obtain through our social network to benefit from social net-
works are called social capital (Lin, 2001). According to this description, social networks can facilitate
bridging networks in social capital and, in entrepreneurship, develop our ability to search for people
with specific skills or experiences (Fischer, 2017).
In higher education settings, students lead a rich digital life that includes maintaining communi-
cation through image-based social networks, such as Instagram, Snapchat, and tinder. Online tools
for developing and maintaining social capital allow individuals to interact with individuals within
and outside social networks as desired (Maguire, 2016). It is only through social interactions with
others that people can realize the benefits of social capital within social networks. Individuals may
change their identities in order to maximize these benefits; however, there may be consequences
to this self-monitoring process (Maghrabi et al., 2014). In online communities, such as social networks,
social identity plays an important role in the value of members. Bergami and Bagozzi (2000) proposed
three dimensions of social identity, i.e. cognitive, affective, and evaluative. These identities affect
social capital characteristics and ultimately one’s use of SNSs (Yoon, 2014).
Greenhow and Robelia (2009) found that SNSs are involved in shaping various dimensions of stu-
dents’ identity as well as developing students’ skills. But the results of this study did not support the
role of online activities in student learning in the classroom. Also, the findings of the study displayed
that SNSs help to develop formal and informal learning contexts and these social networks like
MySpace influence self-discovery, self-presentation, and identity formation of students.
In a study conducted by Burke et al. (2010), they compared three types of Facebook activities; these
activities were one-to-one communication, broadcasts to a wider audience, and passive consumption
of social news. The findings of their study showed that only one-to-one communication was associated
with an increase in online social capital bridging. Furthermore, the intensity of Facebook relationships
6 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

was more influenced by bridging online social capital than bonding online social capital (Burke et al.,
2011; Ellison et al., 2007; Grottke et al., 2018; Paige et al., 2017; Steinfield et al., 2008).
Abbas and Mesch (2018) stated that Facebook, as a part of the daily life and emotionally connected
SNSs, had a positive impact on both online bonding and bridging social capital. In their research,
Grottke et al. (2018) suggested that older SNSs users may be less interested or less able to bond
with close friends in social capital bonding, which can be due to the fact that many of their friends
may not have a personal Facebook page. Furthermore, studies have revealed that some features,
such as using the wall, adding friends, writing about others, liking, sending private messages,
posting pictures, and chatting, are positively related to bridging and bonding social capital (Lee
et al., 2014). In addition to the emphasis put on the positive impact of social networks on individuals’
social capital, some researchers have suggested that social networking activities, such as Facebook, can
have a negative impact on people’s happiness (Sagioglou & Greitemeyer, 2014) and emotions, inciting
jealousy, social tension, and social overload (Krasnova et al., 2013). In addition, studies have shown that
social capital can have negative aspects, especially in groups of social networks that propagate hatred
and deprivation (Faucher, 2018). In line with the above studies, Valenzuela et al. (2009) reported little
association between Facebook use and social capital perceptions, noting that in examining the
relationship between these two variables, they also looked at other variables, such as life satisfaction,
public trust, and civic engagement. Given the almost contradictory results regarding the impact of
social networks and social capital, the use, duration of use, and features of the site and individuals
may be important factors in this regard. For example, Abbas and Mesch (2018) suggested that more
use of Facebook was significantly associated with higher social capital. Grottke et al. (2018) also
observed that older users who were more likely to use SNSs had online social capital bridging and
were less likely to experience bonding social capital than younger users. Arampatzi et al. (2018)
stated that the time spent on SNSs had a negative impact on individuals’ happiness. In their research,
Paige et al. (2017) stated that users’ excessive use of Instagram positively correlated with social capital.
Also, Grottke et al. (2018) understood that the daily time that users spent on SNSs was positively cor-
related with online social capital bonding, but the time spent on SNSs was irrelevant to the online social
capital bridging. Overall, the available evidence suggests that the use of SNSs has an impact on social
capital, depending on several parameters, such as one’s history and the way SNSs are used by individ-
uals (Burke et al., 2011; Ellison et al., 2007; Johnston et al., 2013; Mochen & Xunhua, 2013; Pénard &
Poussing, 2010; Sabatini & Sarracino, 2014; Steinfield et al., 2009; Valenzuela et al., 2009). In addition
to the above research, in a study on the role of actors’ and participants’ identities and online social
capital as a moderator in online games and psychological outcomes, Kaye et al. (2017) reported a posi-
tive relationship between interactions, measured by a multidimensional measure (MMO), and players’
identities and online social capital. They also suggested that players’ identity was associated positively
with self-esteem and social competence, and negatively with loneliness. Loneliness was correlated
negatively with online social capital but positively with bridging social capital. Jensen and Jetten’s
(2015) study showed that the development of bridging social capital would facilitate the formation
of students’ professional identity. Another study by Brough et al. (2006) indicated that in order to
understand the tensions between bonding and bridging, one had to interact with the complexities
of identity. Their findings showed that the gap between bonding and bridging social capital was
filled with a strong competitive identity. The findings of a study by Balatti et al. (2010) also revealed
that online learning environment could help teachers learn about occupational values and norms
and acquire professional teacher identity. Moreover, Valenzuela et al. (2009) highlighted a number
of statements in their study as follows: First, mass communication websites could help individuals
building personal identity by enabling multiple channels for personal feedback and peer acceptance;
secondly, social media users could meet their information needs, which is a vital element in building
social capital. Also, O’Regan et al.’s (2018) research showed that the type of social media could
influence the formation of medical students’ professional identity. Finally, Gündüz (2017) found that
social media was effective in shaping individuals’ identity by establishing a virtual communication
platform.
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 7

Hypotheses and research model

Despite numerous studies done on the relationship between the use of social networks and online
social capital (Burke et al., 2011; Ellison et al., 2007; Johnston et al., 2013; Mochen & Xunhua, 2013;
Pénard & Poussing, 2010; Sabatini & Sarracino, 2014; Steinfield et al., 2009; Valenzuela et al., 2009)
and the use of social networks and the formation of individuals’ identities, as well as the use of
social networks and identity formation (Balatti et al., 2010; O’Regan et al., 2018; Valenzuela et al.,
2009), no research has yet examined the simultaneous relationship between the use of online
social networks, the formation of online social capital, and students’ professional identity in higher
education contexts. The conceptual model of research is shown in Figure 1 with respect to the
purpose of the research and how the research was carried out. The relationships between each of
the research variables were considered in the following initial hypotheses:
H1. Students’ use of online social networks will be positively associated with their online social capital formation
at the university.

H2. Students’ use of online social networks will be positively associated with their professional identity formation
at the university.

H3. Students’ online social capital will be positively associated with their professional identity formation at the
university.

H4. Online social capital has the ability to mediate the relationship between online social networks and the con-
struction of students’ professional identity.

Method
Procedure and sample
The method utilized for this study was a descriptive method of the quantitative correlation type,
using structural equation modeling which examines the direct and indirect causal structural relation
between variables with the use of a correlation design. The questionnaires were distributed person-
ally to the graduate students of one public university and three private higher education centers in
Iran in early 2019. Using random sampling, 298 students from engineering fields of study were
selected as the research sample. The response rate was 74.5%. Completed questionnaires were
received up until January 25, 2019. The sample comprised 52% males and 48% females. Of these

Figure 1. Proposed model.

8 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

students, 18.1& were Ph.D. students and 81.9% were master students at a university or private higher
education centers. The sample descriptive structures were quite similar to the population at the
public university and the private higher education centers.

Measures
All items in this study were scored on a 5-point scale, ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly
agree. In this study, we used Li et al.’s (2016) scale to evaluate and measure the extent to which stu-
dents used online social network. The scale consisted of two dimensions: Social Function Use Intensity
(SFUI) and Entertainment Function Use Intensity (EFUI). The SFUI consisted of 10 items, including
“Shared / Forwarded content” questions. The EFUI also comprised four items, including “Surfed
entertainment/current news”. Variables’ reliability was established by means of Cronbach’s alpha.
The values are shown on the main diagonal of the correlations table (Table 1). In order to measure
online social capital, the scale designed by Paige et al. (2017) was used. This instrument entailed
two dimensions. One dimension was “online bridging social capital”, which included seven items
and was designed by making changes to the Ellison et al.’s scale (2007). For instance, one of its
items was “interacting with people online makes me feel like part of my university”. The second
dimension was “online bonding social capital”, which included five items and was designed by
making some changes to the Williams (2006) questioner items. One of its items was “there are
several people online I trust to help solve my problems”. Each item included a 5-point Likert scale
(1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = Strongly agree). It should be noted that the reliability of this instrument
was α = 0.85for bridging and α = 0.84 for bonding. Also, in the present study, the reliability of this
instrument was α = 0.90 for the bonding dimension and α = 0.87 for the bridging dimension.
Finally, Tan, Molen and Schmidt’s questioner (2017) was used to measure Professional identity. It
should be noted that this tool is designed exclusively to measure the professional identity of engin-
eering students based on the specific characteristics of the engineering fields. This instrument
included 27 items and five dimensions. In this study, and based on the results of the analysis, we
used 23 items and four dimensions of it. “Knowledge about Professional Practices” dimension had
six items, and one of its items, for instance, was, “I know the nature of the work I will do in my
future profession”. The “Experience with the Profession” dimension had six items, and one of its
items was, “I know personally some people who work in my future profession”. Moreover, the
“Having a Professional as a Role Model” dimension had five items; in this study, two items of it
were omitted. One of the items of this dimension was, “I believe I can already think and reason
like a professional in a company or an organization”. The “Professional Self efficacy” dimension
included six items, of which three were used. One of the items of this dimension was, “I’m
confident that I can do an excellent job in the future”. Coefficient H was used to examine the
reliability of this instrument; this coefficient for each of the above dimensions was 0.80, 0.75, 0.65,
0.85, and 0.74, respectively. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were used to examine
the reliability and its coefficients were 0.81, 0.78, 0.72, and 0.75.

Data analysis
To examine the validity and descriptive analysis, the SPSS data analysis software version 22 was used.
Furthermore, AMOS version 21.0 was used for structural equation modeling (SEM) and model fitness.
It must be added that to examine the fit of the model, the indicators chi-square (c2), the chi-square/
degrees of freedom, the incremental fit index (IFI), the comparative fit index (CFI) (Bentler & Bonett,
1980; Hooper et al., 2008), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (Browne &
Cudeck, 1989; Hooper et al., 2008) were used. The appropriate level of indicators v2 was less than
3, IFI and CFI were greater than 0.90, and RMSEA was less than 0.10 (Browne & Cudeck, 1989;
Hooper et al., 2008; Kline, 1998).
Table 1. Means, standard deviations, correlations, and reliabilities.
Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1. Online Social Network 3.14 0.86 (0.90)
2. SFUL 3.19 0.95 0.95** (0.92)
3. EFUL 3.01 0.99 0.76** 0.52** (0.88)
4. Online Social Capital 2.87 0.81 0.53** 0.51** 0.41** (0.91)
5. Bridging 3.08 0.82 0.55** 0.55** 0.38** 0.92** (0.90)
6. Bonding 2.56 0.99 0.41** 0.36** 0.37** 0.89** 0.65** (0.87)
7. Professional Identity 3.57 0.61 0.21** 0.21** 0.14* 0.31** 0.31** 0.25** (0.85)
8. KPP 3.6 0.73 0.15** 0.15** 0.09 0.19** 0.18** 0.16** 0.84** (0.81)
9. EP 3.39 0.80 0.14* 0.11* 0.14* 0.28** 0.27** 0.23** 0.86** 0.59** (0.78)
10. HPRM 3.76 0.76 0.22** 0.24** 0.10 0.28** 0.29** 0.22** 0.71** 0.52** 0.46** (0.72)

INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

11. PSE 3.67 0.76 0.20** 0.23** 0.08 0.26** 0.28** 0.19** 0.66** 0.39** 0.44** 0.47** (0.75)
1
The numbers in parentheses on the diagonal are coefficient alphas; N = 298; * p < 0.05; * * p < 0.01.
2
Social Function Use Intensity (SFUL), Entertainment Function Use Intensity (EFUI), Knowledge about Professional Practices (KPP), Experience with the Profession (EP), Having a Professional as a Role
Model (HPRM), Professional Self efficacy (PSE).

9
10 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

Results
Table 1 demonstrates the scale means, standard deviations, reliabilities, and correlations (r) between
all the research variables. The results of the correlation analysis suggested that both dimensions of
online social capital were significantly correlated with all aspects of using online social networks
and professional identity. In addition, the Social Function Use Intensity dimension was significantly cor-
related with all aspects of professional identity, but the Functional Use Intensity dimension of social
networks was only significantly correlated with Experience with the Profession dimension of pro-
fessional identity. These significant relationships can also be seen in the relationship between all
aspects of professional identity and online social capital and the use of online social networks. There-
fore, there was a significant relationship between the use of online social networks, professional iden-
tity, and online social capital.

Measurement model
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the measurement model. The research measure-
ment model consisted of eight latent factors. The results showed that the factor loadings of each vari-
able of online bridging social capital ranged from 0.70–0.82, with online bonding social capital
ranging from 0.60–0.87. Moreover, the factor loadings of each of the variables using social networks
were between 0.62 and 0.85 based on SFUL and between 0.64 and 0.78 based EFUL. Also, the factor
loadings of each of the professional identity items were between 0.67 and 0.72 based on KPP,
between 0.60 and 0.76 based on EP, between 0.61 and 0.76 based on HPRM, and between 0.62
and 0.71 based on PSE (Table 2).

Structural model
Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the research hypotheses. The analyses showed
that the structural model of the study was well-fitted (Chi-square = 44.7, df = 17; CMIN/df = 2.62; IFI =
0.96; CFI = 0.96; NFI = 0.94; RMSEA: = 0.074). According to Figure 2, the findings showed that students’
use of online social networks was positively and significantly associated with online social capital for-
mation (β = 0.66, p = 0.0001). As a result, the first hypothesis of the study (H1) is confirmed. Also, the

Figure 2. Structural model analysis.

 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 11

Table 2. Confirmatory factor analysis of the variables of the study.

Loading
Measure factor
Online Social Networking SFUL
Activity X 1 Sent messages to friends on message board 0.62
X 2 Chatted with friends via instant messaging function 0.65
X 3 Replied to comments made by social networking friends 0.80
X 4 Commented on friends’ status, logs, and photos 0.85
X 5 Shared/Forwarded content 0.84
X - Browsed others’ logs/photos/statuses/albums* –
X 6 Updated self-status 0.66
X 7 Posted photos/videos on personal web profile 0.72
X 8 Wrote logs/webs 0.65
EFUL
X 9 Surfed entertainment/current news 0.78
X 10 Watched video/listened to music 0.64
X - Played games/applications* –
X 11 Bought/gave virtual goods (e.g. birthday gifts) 0.75
Online Social Capital Bridging
Y- Interacting with people online reminds me that everyone in the world is –
connected.*
Y1 I am willing to spend time to support general online community activities. 0.78
Y2 Interacting with people online gives me new people to talk to. 0.79
Y3 Online, I come in contact with new people all of the time. 0.78
Y4 Interacting with people online helps me connect to people at my university. 0.82
Y5 Online, I come in contact with other students at my university all the time. 0.67
Y6 Interacting with people online makes me feel like part of my university. 0.70
Bonding
Y7 There are several people online I bank on their help to solve my problems. 0.62
Y8 There is someone online I can turn to for advice about making very important life 0.83
decisions.
Y9 There is no one online that I feel comfortable talking to about intimate personal 0.87
problems.
Y10 When I feel lonely, there are several people online I can talk to. 0.82
Y11 If I needed an emergency loan of 500, I know someone online I can turn to. 0.60
Professional Identity KPP
Y12 I know the nature of the work I will do in my future profession. 0.72
Y13 In most work environments, professionals with different backgrounds work 0.67
together. I know of different types of professionals I will be collaborating with.
Y14 I have a good idea about the roles and responsibilities of my future job. 0.67
Y15 I know what kind of applications, tools, and equipment I will handle in my future 0.72
occupation.
Y16 I am aware of the impact of the decisions I make as a professional in the industry. 0.68
Y17 I have a good idea about the rules and regulations in the industry. 0.67
EP
Y18 I work part-time in (or am running) a business related to what I am studying. 0.61
Y19 I am part of an interest group (inside or outside of the polytechnic) related to my 0.66
profession.
Y20 I know personally some people who work in my future profession. 0.76
Y21 I follow developments in my future industry in newspapers and on television. 0.62
Y22 Before I entered the polytechnic, I already had some prior work experience related 0.60
to in the profession of my choice.
Y23 I have interacted with professionals in the industry outside of polytechnic or 0.61
through events organized in the polytechnic.
HPRM
Y24 When working on problems in class, I imagine myself to be in the shoes of a 0.61
professional in my future work environment.
Y25 I believe I can already think and reason like a professional in a company or an 0.76
organization
Y26 I admire most those teachers who are professionals in the area that I would like to enter. 0.73
PSE
Y27 I believe that I will easily get along with my future colleagues, elicit their 0.63
cooperation, and have informal conversations with them.
Y28 I’m confident that I can do an excellent job in the future. 0.71
Y29 I have no doubt that I will master all the skills necessary. 0.62
Notes: Cmin = 1370.713; df = 967; p ≤ 0.0001; Cmin/df = 1.96; CFI = 0.89; NFI = 0.80; RMSEA = 0.057; TLI = 0.87; IFI = 0.89; PNFI =
0.71; *before proceeding to calculate indices, those items which their loading factors were fewer than 0.60 were removed.
12 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

Table 3. Fit indices of the structural model.

Recommended cut-off values CMIN/df < 3 df CMIN IFI > 0.90 CFI > 0.90 NFI > 0.90 RMESA < 0.08
Default model 2.55 17 43.41 0.96 0.96 0.94 0.072

findings indicated a positive and insignificant relationship between students’ use of online social net-
works and their professional identity formation (β = 0.08, p = 0.63), which means that the second
research hypothesis (H2) is not confirmed. On the other hand, the findings showed that the formation
of online social capital was positively and significantly correlated with the formation of students’ pro-
fessional identity (β = 0.34, p = 0.0001). Thus, the third research hypothesis (H3) is also confirmed.
Therefore, based on the confirmation of the research hypotheses and the significance of the relation-
ships among the research variables, it can be concluded that the proposed model is approved as the
final model (Table 3).

Mediation analyses
A bootstrap method with 5000 resamples was used to investigate the mediating role and indirect
impact of online social capital on the relationship between online social network and students ‘pro-
fessional identity. The results showed that the direct effect of using online social networks on stu-
dents’ professional identity formation was p = 0.45, β = 0.07. The indirect effect of using online
social networks on students’ professional identity by creating online social capital was β = .22, with
a CI ranging between 0.5 and 0.08 and a significant level of 0.0001. As a result, the fourth research
hypothesis (H4) is confirmed.

Conclusion and discussion

This study empirically examined the effects of online social networks and online social capital, with
two components of online bridging and online bonding, on the construction of the professional iden-
tity of graduate students in universities and higher education centers. The results of the study
confirmed the relationship between the components of online social capital, online social networks,
and the construction of graduate students’ professional identity. This study showed that online social
networks in higher education environments could contribute to the development of online bridging
and online bonding and the construction of students’ professional identity.
Moreover, the current research showed how online social networks and online social capital could
play a role in shaping the professional identity of graduate students. The findings of the study showed
that students’ use of online social networks was positively and significantly associated with their online
social capital, which is supported by previous studies. Previous studies have highlighted the positive
relationship between social media use and individual social capital (Corvo & De Caro, 2019; Ellison
et al., 2007; Musembwa & Paul, 2020; Neumeyer et al., 2019; Shao & Pan, 2019), as well as the strong
positive relationship between SNSs use and online social capital (Antoci et al., 2012). Furthermore,
studies have revealed that social networks can facilitate bridging networks and online social capital
and foster the search for individuals with specific skills or experiences (Fischer, 2017; Macià & García,
2018). Also, the findings of the studies which have focused on Facebook activities show that the
person-to-person relationship was associated with an increase in online social capital bridging. Interest-
ingly, the intensity of Facebook relationships is more influenced by bridging online social capital (Burke
et al., 2010). Studies have also pointed out that online social networks and the intensity of Facebook
relationships exert more effect on bonding online social capital (Burke et al., 2011; Ellison et al.,
2007; Paige et al., 2017; Steinfield et al., 2008). Moreover, the current findings indicated a positive
but non-significant relationship between students’ use of online social networks and their professional
identity formation. This finding is in conflict with those of the earlier studies. For example, the results of
a study by O’Regan et al. (2018) in higher education settings showed that the type of social media could
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 13

influence the professional identity of medical students these results are also in line with the research
results of authors such as (Hubbar, 2019; Jawed et al., 2019; 2017). Some studies have also displayed
the impact of social networks on online social capital and emphasized the relationship between
teacher participation through SNSs and their identity (Kimmons & Veletsianos, 2014; Maghrabi et al.,
2014).
Furthermore, the findings of the present study showed that the development of the online social
network in academic settings did not have a direct impact on the formation of students’ professional
identity and that students’ identities were shaped by online social capital. In our research, the indirect
effects of using online social networks on students’ professional identity through the creation of
online social capital in academic settings were confirmed. This could be attributed to the academic
environments which are dynamic. As a result of the developments in online social networks, online
social capital has been promoted among students, and this online social capital can help them shape
their identities. The findings also showed that the formation of online social capital was positively and
significantly associated with the formation of students’ professional identity. This finding was in line
with those of previous studies and supported them. That is, online social capital is associated with the
formation of a business identity. Previous studies have shown that individuals’ identities are moni-
tored by them depending on the context in which they are located. The type of social capital that
anyone receives from social networking sites can be affected by this self-monitoring ability (Maghrabi
et al., 2014).
Some studies, however, claimed that social capital is an antecedent in the use of social networks,
which differs from the previous views considering social capital a consequence of Social Networking
Service usage (Yoon, 2014).

Implications
Theoretical implications
The current study has several theoretical contributions. This study contributes to and extends the
existing literature on online social networks and online social capital and the role of these two vari-
ables in shaping and constructing students’ professional identity. Considering these concepts may be
of interest to future researchers. The findings of the current study support those of the previous
studies, by providing support for the impact of online social networks and online social capital on
shaping students’ professional identities in higher education contexts.
In addition, this study empirically examined the role and indirect effects of using online social net-
works on the professional identity of graduate students through the mediation of online social capital
in academic settings. Our study showed that online social capital mediated the effects of online social
networks on the professional identity of graduate students.

Managerial implications
This study provides various implications that could be of interest to higher education administrators,
as well as policymakers, in Iran and many other developing countries. They can develop information
and communication technology at university, especially online social networking in academic
environments, and optimize students’ use of these networks. Online social capital is formed and
matured in higher education environments, and this capital can influence the shaping of students’
professional identity. It appears that the development of online social networks can also effectively
promote the professional development of students, faculty, and even staff. Therefore, university
administrators should provide the context and climate for the development of social networks in
the university and encourage students and faculty to use it. Academics are also encouraged to
pay attention to the factors that have a role in the construction of students’ social capital and
their professional identities, established based on academic values and through social networks.
14 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

Limitations and future research

In this study, an attempt was made to check the accuracy, reliability, and validity of the research.
However, as true of other research studies, there were some limitations to this study. These limit-
ations concern the application of the results of this study and even replication studies.
First, this study was focused on four universities and higher education centers in Iran; it is rec-
ommended that further studies focus on other universities and education centers in Iran and
other countries.
Second, along with the variables considered in this study, academic leadership styles should be
considered in future studies to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that
influence students’ professional identity formation in academic settings.
Third, this study focused on the online social capital event and professional identity; however,
future research can explore these variables in offline environments.
Fourth, the analysis of data obtained from the participants of this study was organized into a
formal learning event, while future studies should consider the variables mentioned in informal learn-
ing environments.
Fifth, Future research should extend this type of analysis using mixed methods as well as semi-
structured interviewing methods.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors
Elham Heidari is an Assistant Professor of educational administration at education and psychology School in Shiraz Uni-
versity. She received his Ph.D. degree in Educational Administration from Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran in 2015. Her aca-
demic interest areas are Virtual higher education and ICT integration and Social media use in higher education
Ghasem Salimi is currently an Assistant Professor of higher education at Department of Educational Administration &
Planning in Shiraz University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Higher Education from Shahid Beheshti University,
Tehran, Iran in September, 2012. His academic interest areas are higher education studies, Social media use in higher
education and internationalization. Dr. Salimi has published 58 academic journal papers and 25 conference papers.
Mahboobe Mehrvarz is a PhD Candidate in Educational Administration at Department of Educational Administration &
Planning in Shiraz University. Her academic interest areas are E- Learning, Virtual learning, educational technology in
higher education and Virtual mobility in higher education.

ORCID
Ghasem Salimi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7180-3455

References
Abbas, R., & Mesch, G. (2018). Do rich teens get richer? Facebook use and the link between offline and online social capital
among Palestinian youth in Israel. Information, Communication & Society, 21(1), 63–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/
1369118X.2016.1261168
Antoci, A., Sabatini, F., & Sodini, M. (2012). See you on Facebook! A framework for analyzing the role of computer-
mediated interaction in the evolution of social capital. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 41(5), 541–547. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.socec.2012.04.024
Arampatzi, E., Burger, M. J., & Novik, N. (2018). Social network sites, individual social capital and happiness. Journal of
Happiness Studies, 19(1), 99–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9808-z
Balatti, J., Knight, C., Haase, M., & Henderson, L. (2010). Developing teacher professional identity through online learning: A
social capital perspective. In Proceedings of the 2010 Australian Teacher Education Association National Conference in
Teacher Education for a Sustainable Future. 4–7 July.
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 15

Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures.
Psychological Bulletin, 88(3), 588. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.88.3.588
Bergami, M., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2000). Self-categorization, affective commitment, and group self-esteem as distinct aspects
of social identity in the organization. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39(4), 555–577. https://doi.org/10.1348/
014466600164633
Bickle, J. T., Hirudayaraj, M., & Doyle, A. (2019). Social presence theory: Relevance for HRD/VHRD research and practice.
Advances in Developing Human Resources, 21(3), 383–399. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422319851477
Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. The University of Chicago Press.
Boyd, D. (2010). Social network sites as networked publics: Affordances, dynamics, and implications. In Z. Papacharissi
(Ed.), A networked self (pp. 47–66). Routledge.
Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, 13(1), 210–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x
Bozkurt, A., & Tu, C. H. (2016). Digital identity formation: Socially being real and present on digital networks. Educational
Media International, 53(3), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2016.1236885
Braudt, D. B. (2014). Breaking down barriers of space: Correlations and connections between online social capital, offline
social capital, community attachment, and community satisfaction.
Brough, M., Bond, C., Hunt, J., Jenkins, D., Shannon, C., & Schubert, L. (2006). Social capital meets identity: Aboriginality in
an urban setting. Journal of Sociology, 42(4), 396–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783306069996
Brown, S., Flick, L., & Fiez, T. (2009). An investigation of the presence and development of social capital in an electrical
engineering laboratory. Journal of Engineering Education, 98(1), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2009.
tb01008.x
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1989). Single sample cross-validation indices for covariance structures. Multivariate
Behavioral Research, 24(4), 445–455. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr2404_4
Burke, M., Kraut, R., & Marlow, C. (2011, May). Social capital on Facebook: Differentiating uses and users. In M. Burke, C.
Marlow, T. Lento, G. Fitzpatrick, S. Hudson, K. Edwards, & T. Rodden (Eds.), Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on
human factors in computing systems (pp. 571–580). ACM.
Burke, M., Marlow, C., & Lento, T. (2010, April). Social network activity and social well-being. In M. Burke, C. Marlow, T.
Lento, G. Fitzpatrick, S. Hudson, K. Edwards, & T. Rodden (Eds.), Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human
factors in computing systems (pp. 1909–1912). ACM.
Chaffery, D. (2018). Global social media research summary 2018 Smart Insights, Smart Insights, 2018. Retrieved March 29,
2018, from https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-mediastrategy/new-global-social-media-
research/
Chen, H., & Meng, T. (2015). Bonding, bridging, and linking social capital and self-rated health among Chinese adults: Use
of the anchoring vignettes technique. PloS One, 10(11), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0142300.
Corvo, E., & De Caro, W. (2019). Social capital and social networks: Elisabetta Corvo. European Journal of Public Health, 29
(Suppl. 4), 417–418. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckz186.093.
Craig, E. M. (2007). Changing paradigms: Managed learning environments and Web 2.0. Campus-Wide Information
Systems, 24(3), 152–161. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650740710762185
Cruess, R. L., Cruess, S. R., Boudreau, J. D., Snell, L., & Steinert, Y. (2015). A schematic representation of the professional
identity formation and socialization of medical students and residents: A guide for medical educators. Academic
Medicine, 90(6), 718–725. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000700
Dabbagh, N., & Reo, R. (2011). Tracing the Roots and Learning Affordances of Social Software. Web 2.0-Based E-Learning:
Applying Social Informatics for, 1.
Daniel, B., Schwier, R. A., & McCalla, G. (2003). Social capital in virtual learning communities and distributed
communities of practice. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 29(3), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.21432/T21S4R.
Davis, J. S. (2016). Building a professional teaching identity on social media: A digital constellation of selves. Springer.
Dewane, C. J. (2006). Use of self: A primer revisited. Clinical Social Work Journal, 34(4), 543–558. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10615-005-0021-5
Donelan, H. (2016). Social media for professional development and networking opportunities in academia. Journal of
Further and Higher Education, 40(5), 706–729. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2015.1014321
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends”: Social capital and college students’ use
of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143–1168. https://doi.org/10.
1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x
Faucher, K. X. (2018). Social capital online: Alienation and accumulation (critical digital and social media studies) (pp. 195).
University of Westminster Press.
Fischer, P. (2017). Bridging rural constraints-do rural entrepreneurs exploit online social capital differently than urbanized
entrepreneurs?
Garrison, D. R. (2016). E-learning in the 21st century (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Geys, B., & Murdoch, Z. (2010). Measuring the ‘bridging’ versus ‘bonding’ nature of social networks: A proposal for inte-
grating existing measures. Sociology, 44(3), 523–540. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038510362474
Granovetter, M. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.
16 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

Greenhow, C., & Robelia, B. (2009). Informal learning and identity formation in online social networks. Learning, Media and
Technology, 34(2), 119–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439880902923580
Grottke, M., Hacker, J. V., & Durst, C. (2018). Which factors determine our online social capital? An analysis based on struc-
tural equation modelling. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 22, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v22i0.1656.
Gündüz, U. (2017). The effect of social media on identity construction. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(5), 85–
92. https://doi.org/10.1515/mjss-2017-0026
Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit.
Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53–60. http://www.ejbrm.com.
Horng, S. M., Wu, C. L., & Liang, T. P. (2016, June). How behaviors on social network sites and online social capital influence
social commerce: The case of Facebook. In PACIS (p. 295).
Hubbard, J. (2019). K-6 pre-service teachers’ emerging professional identities as social studies educators. The Journal of
Social Studies Research, 43(3), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssr.2018.04.002
Ibarra, H., & Petriglieri, J. L. (2010). Identity work and play. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 23(1), 10–25.
https://doi.org/10.1108/09534811011017180
Jawed, S., Mahboob, U., & Yasmeen, R. (2019). Digital professional identity: Dear Internet! Who am I? Education for Health,
32(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.4103/efh.EfH_232_17.
Jensen, D. H., & Jetten, J. (2015). Bridging and bonding interactions in higher education: Social capital and students’ aca-
demic and professional identity formation. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 126. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00126
Johnston, K., Tanner, M., Lalla, N., & Kawalski, D. (2013). Social capital: The benefit of Facebook ‘friends’. Behaviour &
Information Technology, 32(1), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2010.550063
Jordan, K., & Weller, M. (2018). Academics and social networking sites: Benefits, problems and tensions in professional
engagement with online networking. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.
448.
Kaye, L. K., Kowert, R., & Quinn, S. (2017). The role of social identity and online social capital on psychosocial outcomes in
MMO players. Computers in Human Behavior, 74, 215–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.04.030
Kimmons, R., & Veletsianos, G. (2014). The fragmented educator 2.0: Social networking sites, acceptable identity fragments,
and the identity constellation. Computers & Education, 72, 292–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.12.001
Kline, R. B. (1998). Structural equation modeling. Guilford.
Knight, C. G., & Kaye, L. K. (2016). ‘To tweet or not to tweet?’A comparison of academics’ and students’ usage of Twitter in
academic contexts. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 53(2), 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/
14703297.2014.928229
Koole, M., & Parchoma, G. (2013). The web of identity: A model of digital identity formation in networked learning
environments. In S. Warburton (Ed.), Digital identity and social media (pp. 14–28). IGI Global.
Krasnova, H., Wenninger, H., Widjaja, T., & Buxmann, P. (2013). Envy on Facebook: A hidden threat to users’ life satisfaction?
In International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI)/Business Information Systems 2013, Leipzig, Germany.
Lee, E., Kim, Y. J., & Ahn, J. (2014). How do people use Facebook features to manage social capital? Computers in Human
Behavior, 36, 440–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.04.007
Lee, J. Y., Park, S., Na, E. Y., & Kim, E. M. (2016). A comparative study on the relationship between social networking site use
and social capital among Australian and Korean youth. Journal of Youth Studies, 19(9), 1164–1183. https://doi.org/10.
1080/13676261.2016.1145637
Li, J., Lau, J. T., Mo, P. K., Su, X., Wu, A. M., Tang, J., & Qin, Z. (2016). Validation of the Social Networking Activity Intensity
Scale among junior middle school students in China. PloS one, 11(10), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.
0165695.
Lin, N. (2001). Social capital. A theory of social structure and action. Cambridge University Press.
Lin, N., Fu, Y. C., & Hsung, R. M. (2001). Measurement techniques for investigations of social capital. In N. Lin & A. Gruyter.
Social capital: theory and research.
Macià, M., & García, I. (2018). Professional development of teachers acting as bridges in online social networks. Research in
Learning Technology, 26, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2057.
Maghrabi, R. O., Oakley, R. L., & Nemati, H. R. (2014). The impact of self-selected identity on productive or perverse social
capital in social network sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 33, 367–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.08.015
Maguire, D. (2016). The influence of online social capital on women’s career change. Advancing Women in Leadership, 36,
64–72. https://awl-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/awl/index.php/awl/article/viewFile/22/14.
Malaby, T. (2006). Parlaying value: Capital in and beyond virtual worlds. Games and Culture, 1(2), 141–162. https://doi.org/
10.1177/1555412006286688
Mandarano, L., Meenar, M., & Steins, C. (2010). Building social capital in the digital age of civic engagement. Journal of
Planning Literature, 25(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412210394102
Mochen, Y., & Xunhua, G. (2013). Relationship between online and offline social capital: Evidence from a social network
site in China.
Mou, Y., & Lin, C. A. (2017). The impact of online social capital on social trust and risk perception. Asian Journal of
Communication, 27(6), 563–581. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2017.1371198
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 17

Musembwa, S., & Paul, S. (2020, January). Examining interactions in social network sites through the lense of social capital. In
Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
Neumeyer, X., Santos, S. C., Caetano, A., & Kalbfleisch, P. (2019). Entrepreneurship ecosystems and women entrepreneurs:
A social capital and network approach. Small Business Economics, 53(2), 475–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-
9996-5
Nguyen, T., Dao, B., Phung, D. Q., Venkatesh, S., & Berk, M. (2013, July). Online social capital: Mood, topical and psycholin-
guistic analysis. In ICWSM.
O’Regan, A., Smithson, W. H., & Spain, E. (2018). Social media and professional identity: Pitfalls and potential. Medical
Teacher, 40(2), 112–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2017.1396308
Paige, S. R., Stellefson, M., Chaney, B. H., Chaney, D. J., Alber, J. M., Chappell, C., & Barry, A. E. (2017). Examining the relationship
between online social capital and ehealth literacy: Implications for Instagram use for chronic disease prevention among
college students. American Journal of Health Education, 48(4), 264–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2017.1316693
Pénard, T., & Poussing, N. (2010). Internet use and social capital: The strength of virtual ties. Journal of Economic Issues, 44
(3), 569–595. https://doi.org/10.2753/JEI0021-3624440301
Sabatini, F., & Sarracino, F. (2014). Will Facebook save or destroy social capital. An empirical investigation into the effect of
online interactions on trust and networks. EERI Research Paper Series EERI RP, 2.
Sagioglou, C., & Greitemeyer, T. (2014). Facebook’s emotional consequences: Why Facebook causes a decrease in mood
and why people still use it. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 359–363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.003
Scanlon, L. (2011). ‘Becoming’a professional. In L. Scanlon (Ed.), “Becoming” a professional. Lifelong learning book series
(Vol. 16, pp. 13–32). Springer.
Scholar, H. (2017). The neglected paraphernalia of practice? Objects and artefacts in social work identity, practice and
research. Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice, 16(5), 631–648. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325016637911
Shao, Z., & Pan, Z. (2019). Building Guanxi network in the mobile social platform: A social capital perspective. International
Journal of Information Management, 44, 109–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.10.002
Smith, C., Smith, J. B., & Shaw, E. (2017). Embracing digital networks: Entrepreneurs’ social capital online. Journal of
Business Venturing, 32(1), 18–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.10.003
Starcic, A. I., Barrow, M., Zajc, M., & Lebenicnik, M. (2017). Students’ attitudes on social network sites and their actual use
for career management competences and professional identity development. International Journal of Emerging
Technologies in Learning (iJET), 12(05), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v12i05.6778
Steinfield, C., DiMicco, J. M., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2009, June). Bowling online: Social networking and social capital
within the organization. In Proceedings of the fourth international conference on Communities and technologies
(pp. 245–254). ACM.
Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longi-
tudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.
07.002
Stern, M. J., & Adams, A. E. (2010). Do rural residents really use the internet to build social capital? An empirical investi-
gation American Behavioral Scientist, 53(9), 1389–1422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764210361692
Stokes, J., & Price, B. (2017). Social media, visual culture and contemporary identity. In 11th International Multi-conference
on society, cybernetics and informatics (pp. 159–163). IMSCI.
Sutherland, L., & Markauskaite, L. (2012). Examining the role of authenticity in supporting the development of pro-
fessional identity: An example from teacher education. Higher Education, 64(6), 747–766. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10734-012-9522-7
Tan, C. P., Van der Molen, H. T., & Schmidt, H. G. (2017). A measure of professional identity development for professional
education. Studies in Higher Education, 42(8), 1504–1519. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1111322
Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is there social capital in a social network site?: Facebook use and college stu-
dents’ life satisfaction, trust, and participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875–901. https://
doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01474.x
van Zoonen, W., Verhoeven, J. W., & Vliegenthart, R. (2016). How employees use Twitter to talk about work: A typology of
work-related tweets. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 329–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.021
Veletsianos, G. (2011). Designing opportunities for transformation with emerging technologies. Educational Technology,
51(2), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.2307/44429917.
Vitak, J., & Ellison, N. B. (2013). ‘There’sa network out there you might as well tap’: Exploring the benefits of and barriers to
exchanging informational and support-based resources on Facebook. New Media & Society, 15(2), 243–259. https://doi.
org/10.1177/1461444812451566
Wald, H. S. (2015). Professional identity (trans) formation in medical education: Reflection, relationship, resilience.
Academic Medicine, 90(6), 701–706. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000731
Wang, S. S. (2013). “I share, therefore I am”: Personality traits, life satisfaction, and Facebook check-ins. Cyberpsychology,
Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(12), 870–877. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0395
Wenger, E., White, N., & Smith, J. D. (2009). Digital habitats: Stewarding technology for communities. CPsquare.
Whiteside, A. L., Dikkers, A. G., & Swan, K. (Eds.). (2017). Social presence in online learning: Multiple perspectives on practice
and research (1st ed.). Stylus Publishing, LLC.
18 E. HEIDARI ET AL.

Williams, D. (2006). On and off the’Net: Scales for social capital in an online era. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, 11(2), 593–628. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00029.x
Ye, Q., Fang, B., He, W., & Hsieh, J. J. (2012). Can social capital be transferred cross the boundary of the real and virtual
worlds? An empirical investigation of Twitter.
Yoon, S. J. (2014). Does social capital affect SNS usage? A look at the roles of subjective well-being and social identity.
Computers in Human Behavior, 41, 295–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.043
Zaina, L. A., Ameida, T. A., & Torres, G. M. (2014, September). Can the online social networks be used as a learning tool? A
case study in Twitter. In L. Uden, J. Sinclair, Y.-H. Tao, & D. Liberona (Eds.), International workshop on learning technology
for education in cloud (pp. 114–123). Springer.