The number of people playing Massive Multiplayer Online Games （MMOGs） is growing steadily, yet there are limited studies on the social impact that this online activity has. This research, using both quantitative and...The number of people playing Massive Multiplayer Online Games （MMOGs） is growing steadily, yet there are limited studies on the social impact that this online activity has. This research, using both quantitative and qualitative data, focused on whether users of the most popular MMOG, World of Warcraft （WOW）, exhibited behaviors of social capital in their online gaming activity and whether there was any correlation to offiine social capital. The findings indicated that cooperation provided the best indicator to make a correlation about a gamer＇s offiine social capital behaviors. One conclusion, stemming from this is that, in virtual worlds, the added social capital can lead to cronyism and help those in power maintain the status quo.展开更多
文摘The number of people playing Massive Multiplayer Online Games （MMOGs） is growing steadily, yet there are limited studies on the social impact that this online activity has. This research, using both quantitative and qualitative data, focused on whether users of the most popular MMOG, World of Warcraft （WOW）, exhibited behaviors of social capital in their online gaming activity and whether there was any correlation to offiine social capital. The findings indicated that cooperation provided the best indicator to make a correlation about a gamer＇s offiine social capital behaviors. One conclusion, stemming from this is that, in virtual worlds, the added social capital can lead to cronyism and help those in power maintain the status quo.
