Exploring the Relationship between Extroversion and Online and Offline Social Capital Among Video Game Players

Abstract

There are numerous studies focusing on the digital world in hopes of better understanding how it influences socialization between individuals. Though, fewer studies look at the continuity of relationships from the digital environment to the physical environment. The current paper examines the continuity of social relationships between digital and physical environments on a sample compose of 996 video game enthusiasts, focusing on extroversion as a variable affecting socialization among video game players. Using the social capital paradigm to distinguish between online and offline relationships, we investigate the correlation between extroversion and social capital in both contexts. Our findings indicate a positive correlation between extroversion and both online and offline social capital, with a stronger association observed in offline social capital. The results suggest that extroverted individuals are more likely to integrate their digital friendships into their physical social environments, or to migrate offline relationships into the online medium.