Online and Offline Social Capital and Their Relationship with Social Participation

Abstract

In the digital age, it has become necessary to study social phenomena in the online context to gain a deeper understanding of our virtual world. Therefore, this study aims to explore social capital (SC) in the online and offline contexts and their relationship with social participation (SP). Data were collected from 199 participants by a survey to test the hypotheses and answer the research questions of this study. The results indicate a positive relationship between online SC, offline SC, and SP. In addition, online and offline SC positively predict each other. However, informal SP (e.g., meeting friends, relatives, and work colleagues) is positively related to offline SC. In contrast, formal SP (e.g., membership, participation, and voluntary work) is positively related to financial satisfaction and online bonding SC. Therefore, formal and informal SP should be measured and analyzed separately because they are differently related to other variables. Additionally, online and offline SC should be investigated separately for the same reason.