Do online social interactions cultivate social capital? Evidence from a longitudinal study.

It is widely documented that social capital can benefit individual and social development. However, research on the roles of internet technologies in cultivating social capital has not arrived at a consensus. This article aims to understand the effects of online social interactions (OSIs) on generalized trust and prosocial civic engagement, two essential forms of social capital, with a longitudinal study and structural equation model. Fixed-effect model estimations consistently show that OSIs can effectively increase levels of generalized trust in China. Also, trust in parents is used as an alternative dependent variable to provide a comparative analysis. The mechanisms of these two sources of trust are different, and insignificant effects of OSIs on trust in parents are found to implicitly support the causal link between OSIs and trust in strangers. In this study, we implemented a series of robustness checks, for example, examinations using only the netizens as a sample and cross-sectional methods. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between OSIs and prosocial civic engagement (charitable donation), a behavior form of social capital. The SEM results suggested that charitable behaviors were positively affected by OSIs and generalized trust played a positive mediating role. Additionally, significant positive direct and indirect effects through the generalized trust in OSIs were found on prosocial behaviors.

The impact of TV series consumption on cultural knowledge: An empirical study based on gratification-cultivation theory.

This study aims to clarify the media-induced trends of cross-cultural transmission and examine the implicit promotional potential for cultural branding. The gratification and cultivation theories are used to explore the promotional media prospect in forming perceptions of foreign cultures' traditions, habits, norms, and values to contribute to international communication. We analyzed the theoretical applicability in the case of China-Thailand contemporary media culture. A total of 856 Chinese series watchers were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the path effect of consumption of Chinese TV series on other endogenous variables. Results showed that cross-cultural media product consumption strengthens bilateral relations. Moreover, the acceptance and appropriation during engagement with media characters and producers lead to favorable attitudes toward the target culture. Results confirm the positive mutual association between the gratification and cultivation theories and their applicability in the current context. This study offers an important contribution through its finding that the need for gratification significantly and positively impacts consumption and cross-cultural learning and raises cross-cultural awareness, thereby leading to sustainable practices.