Purpose

The use of social networking sites (SNSs) can promote life satisfaction mainly because of their social relationship benefits. Although prior studies examined the roles of different types of social capital (SC), the association between online and offline SC is ignored. This research addresses this gap by uncovering a mechanism of transformation between online and offline SC in terms of bonding and bridging types when linking SNSs usage and life satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Categorizing the concept of SC into four sub-types from bonding/bridging and online/offline dimensions, the paper establishes a theoretical framework based on the transformation mechanism among these four kinds of SC. A component-based approach, partial least square method, is chosen for hypothesis testing with a survey-based sample collected from WeChat users.

Findings

First, SNSs usage is positively related to life satisfaction and four types of SC (i.e. online/offline and bonding/bridging SC). Second, both online bonding SC and offline bridging SC are positively related to life satisfaction and can mediate the relationship between SNSs usage and life satisfaction. Third, offline bonding SC is positively related to online bonding SC and can mediate the relationship between SNSs usage and online bonding SC; on the contrary, online bridging SC is positively related to offline bridging SC and can mediate the relationship between SNSs usage and offline bridging SC.

Practical implications

In the environment of SNSs, users can take vigorous strategies to better balance online and offline spaces and improve life satisfaction by adapting to the characteristics of SNSs in developing different types of SC. Specifically, it is encouraged for users to transfer online bridging SC into offline space and offline bonding SC into online space.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study exploring the association between online and offline SC when linking SNSs usage and life satisfaction. Instead of the single transformation direction from online to offline in prior Internet research, this research has revealed different transformation directions between online and offline SC in terms of bonding and bridging types in the context of SNSs.

中文翻译：

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社交网站能提升生活满意度吗？一场线上线下社会资本转型的解读

目的

社交网站 (SNS) 的使用可以提高生活满意度，主要是因为它们的社会关系益处。尽管先前的研究检查了不同类型的社会资本 (SC) 的作用，但忽略了在线和离线 SC 之间的关联。本研究通过在将 SNS 使用和生活满意度联系起来时，揭示了在线和离线 SC 之间在结合和桥接类型方面的转换机制，从而解决了这一差距。

设计/方法/方法

将SC的概念从bonding/bridging和online/offline维度划分为四个子类型，建立了基于这四种SC之间转换机制的理论框架。选择基于分量的方法，即偏最小二乘法，使用从微信用户收集的基于调查的样本进行假设检验。

发现

首先，SNS 的使用与生活满意度和四种 SC（即在线/离线和绑定/桥接 SC）正相关。其次，线上绑定 SC 和线下桥接 SC 都与生活满意度正相关，并且可以在 SNS 使用和生活满意度之间起到中介作用。第三，离线绑定SC与在线绑定SC正相关，可以调节SNS使用和在线绑定SC之间的关系；相反，在线桥接 SC 与离线桥接 SC 呈正相关，并且可以调节 SNS 使用和离线桥接 SC 之间的关系。

实际影响

在社交网络的环境下，用户可以通过适应社交网络的特点开发不同类型的SC，采取积极的策略，更好地平衡线上和线下空间，提高生活满意度。具体而言，鼓励用户将线上桥接SC转移到线下空间，线下绑定SC转移到线上空间。

原创性/价值

据作者所知，这是第一项探索在线和离线 SC 将 SNS 使用和生活满意度联系起来时的关联的研究。与以往互联网研究中从线上到线下的单一转换方向不同，本研究揭示了 SNS 环境下线上和线下 SC 在绑定和桥接类型方面的不同转换方向。