Internet Use and Social Capital: The Case of Filipino Migrants in Japan

This paper explores how Internet use may result in the cultivation of social capital. It takes as its focus Filipino migrants in Japan to prove that Internet use may bring about the creation, maintenance, and enhancement of social capital in the process. Using a Likert-type 5 point scale survey, findings reveal a significant consequence on the majority of social capital items which include Filipinos getting to know each other, an easier lifein Japan, feeling proud of their national identity and belonging to a community. However, trust online is considered by Filipino migrants to be unimportant aspect of social capital. Nonetheless, a relatively high reliability was found in Cronbach‟s Alpha that covers Internet useand social capital respectively. It can be surmised then that there is a positive relationship between Internet use and social capital amongst Filipino migrants in Japan. Discussed in this paper also are the latent drawbacks and potential research trajectories of the study.