A comparison of social capital and the problematic use of massively multiplayer online games

The purpose of this study was to further understand the relationship between problematic use and social aspects of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). As Internet use has gained in popularity in technologically-privileged communities, so has participating in real-time, virtual, three-dimensional worlds with hundreds or thousands of other people. These MMOGs have drawn attention from researchers and policymakers, concerned that the games were addictive and that high levels of time spent in the virtual world might interfere with other aspects of the players' lives. On the other hand, some researchers hypothesized that MMOGs may be effective social outlets, providing some of the benefits normally found in offline social activities. In particular, some researchers have looked at whether MMOGs may be similar to the "third places" of offline communities: the bar, the sports club, or the local hangout where individuals relax and interact with relative strangers.;An invitation to take an internet-based self-report questionnaire was posted on seven forums dedicated to users of the two MMOGs: World of Warcraft and Second Life. These two were chosen because they have the highest market share of two broad categories of MMOGs: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) and Massively Multiplayer Online Social Games (MMOSGs), respectively. Of the 91 completed questionnaires, roughly half were participants from each MMOG.;While the MMOGs did not differ in levels of in-game bridging social capital or problematic use, Second Life residents reported higher levels of in-game bonding social capital. For World of Warcraft players, more hours per week and more time spent playing alone predicted lower in-game social capital. For Second Life residents, more hours per week in the MMOG predicted higher in-game social capital, particularly in-game bonding social capital. In the users' offline lives, more hours of weekly MMOG use predicted lower offline social capital.;Problematic use was best predicted in World of Warcraft players by the number of hours spent in the MMOG and being a male player, while the number of offline friends interacted with in-MMOG predicted less problematic use. For Second Life residents, higher levels of loneliness and the more hours used per week were the strongest predictors of increased problematic use. World of Warcraft players reported less use of the game to regulate mood, and less preference for online social interaction than Second Life residents. At higher levels of extraversion, higher levels of reported problematic use by Second Life residents did not predict lower levels of offline social capital, a relationship not seen in World of Warcraft players.;The finding that in-game bridging social capital was higher than offline bridging social capital on a per-respondent basis suggests that MMOGs may be third places for some users. There are, however, no benchmarks of social capital in traditional third places of any culture with which to compare how effective they are. Further research is needed to assess the relationship of MMOG social capital and problematic use longitudinally.