Research On The Influence Of Gamified Social Media Use On Individual Social Capital

With the development of Internet technology,mobile social applications have become an important part of people's life online.The emerging gamified social media platforms,focused on social interaction among strangers,such as Momo,Tantan,Playbar,Soul,Summer and others,have become increasingly popular in the new generations.Survey data show that more and more young people are willing to meet strangers,make friends and even look for partners in this gamified way.Based on the theory of social capital,this study found that:(1)there is a significant positive relationship between gamified social interaction and individual online bridging social capital and online bonding social capital,the more gamified social media people use,the stronger online bridging social capital and online bonding social capital they will achieve;(2)the sense of social presence based on emotion and behavior significantly mediates the relationship between gamified social media use and individual online bridging social capital and online bonding social capital.In summary,this study established a connection between gamified social media use and individual online bridging social capital,online boding social capital,especially under the mediating role of the sense of social presence.In a gamified environment of social interaction,people are likely to become more engaged and more aware of the existence of others,which leads to a sense of social presence,with an effect of the accumulation of social capital.This study is arguably the first that defined gamified socializing both conceptually and operationally.The findings built a significant relationship between gamified social media use and individual online bridging social capital,online bonding social capital,supported the social compensation hypothesis in the study of online social capital,and demonstrated that people can accumulate social capital through new media technologies such as gamified social media platforms.