How can WeChat contribute to psychosocial benefits? Unpacking mechanisms underlying network size, social capital and life satisfaction among sojourners

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to systematically unpack whether and how WeChat network size is correlated with perceived social capital and life satisfaction among Chinese overseas students in Germany. Design/methodology/approach Based on a web-based survey data collected from 218 sojourners, zero-order correlation analyses and structural equation modeling were separately implemented to tackle the complicated research questions. Findings Findings demonstrate that an individual’s WeChat network size significantly and directly influences bridging, bonding and maintained social capital. Importantly, a path model demonstrates that these distinct dimensions of social capital are all significant predictors of life satisfaction. Furthermore, the empirical evidence reveals that bridging, bonding and maintained social capital can mediate the association between network size and well-being outcome. Research limitations/implications Theoretically, the paper is an initial attempt contributing to the previous studies on estimating the influence of WeChat friendships on social capital and life satisfaction. Practically, these findings will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of effect of personal network characteristics derived from the dominant media interaction on social connectedness and life quality. Originality/value Despite WeChat is immensely prevalent in Mainland China, only few studies have concentrated on the role of WeChat network size in fostering individuals’ social and psychological development. The work provides unique evidence that number of friends on the emerging technology could indirectly benefit sojourners’ satisfaction with life through processes involving diverse categories of social capital in a trans-cultural environment.

Understanding the Potential Influence of WeChat Engagement on Bonding Capital, Bridging Capital, and Electronic Word-of-Mouth Intention

“…First, the significant outcomes for Hypotheses 2-3 corroborate the path effects suggesting that sharing and liking can positively influence bonding and bridging social capital. The results are in accordance with previous studies that identified social media use as a key factor contributing to individual's social capital in the computer-mediated environment [7,21,72]. Regarding seeking behavior, H1a is supported while H1b is rejected, showing that seeking only has effects on bonding social capital.…”

“…Drawing on social capital theory and previous studies on WeChat use behavior [7,14,27], this paper constructs a research model (presented in Figure 1) to systematically explore the factors that influence individuals' e-WOM intention. WeChat use behavior is further decomposed into seeking, sharing, and liking, and is expected to exert direct effects on social capital and e-WOM intention.…”

“…Among these diverse platforms, WeChat is presently recognized as the most preponderant social networking site (SNS) and has grabbed increasing attention from researchers [3][4][5]. Launched by Tencent on 21 January 2011, WeChat is a free application to provide instant messaging services for users and supports all mobile device platforms embracing Apple iOS, Android, and Windows Phone operating systems [6,7]. According to the financial report of WeChat, the number of monthly active accounts of WeChat (both domestic and international versions) reached roughly 1.206 billion in June 2020, with a year-on-year increase of 6.5% [8].…”

Individual Social Capital and Life Satisfaction among Mainland Chinese Adults: Based on the 2016 China Family Panel Studies

“…First, previous studies in China either selected specific population as the research object [ 24 , 25 ] or limited study area [ 15 , 26 ]. For example, Pang [ 27 ] investigated the impact of social capital on life satisfaction among Chinese overseas students in Germany and found that social capital is a significant predictor of life satisfaction. Yuan [ 28 ] only analyzed the impact of social capital on life satisfaction in three Chinese cities (Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong).…”

Understanding content sharing on the internet: test of a cognitive-affective-conative model

“…First, as one component of subjective well-being (Çikrıkci, 2016;Diener et al, 1985), life satisfaction reflects individuals' thoughts and feelings about their lives (Castellacii and Tveito, 2018;Diener and Diener, 1995;Liu et al, 2013). It is a judgmental process of how individuals evaluate the quality of their lives (Diener et al, 1985;Lim and Yang, 2019;Pang, 2019). Because the internet has become a part of most people's everyday lives (Fallows, 2004;Wellman and Haythornthwaite, 2002), prior research has suggested that psychological well-being and life satisfaction may be related to internet use (Castellacii and Tveito, 2018;Çikrıkci, 2016;Hofer et al, 2019).…”