Adolescents' visions of their future careers, educational plans, and life pathways: The role of bridging and bonding social capital experiences

This study investigates the experiences and life aspirations of adolescents based on interview data collected from primarily first-generation high school students in three Midwestern suburban and rural towns (N = 43) using a social capital framework. We explore adolescents' descriptions of experiences that represent new or different careers, cultures, and life paths and how they talk about their future professional and educational aspirations. Our participants were exposed to new possible careers, cultures, and life paths from both online and offline experiences, such as study abroad, online gaming, and some uses of social media. Online networks that primarily reflected offline connections, such as Facebook, were less likely to provide these experiences.