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Online communication and social well-being: how playing
World of Warcraft affects players’ social competence
and loneliness
Mandy Visser, Marjolijn L. Antheunis, Alexander P. Schouten
Tilburg Center for Cognition and Communication, Tilburg University
Correspondence concerning this article should
be addressed to Mandy Visser, Tilburg
University, Warandelaan 2, P.O. Box 90153,
5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.
E-mail: mandy.visser@tilburguniversity.edu
doi: 10.1111/jasp.12144
Abstract
This study was designed to examine the effects of playing the online game World of
Warcraft (WoW) on adolescents’ social competence and loneliness, and to investi-
gate the underlying mechanisms of the Internet-affected social compensation
hypothesis. The hypothesis states that being online affects adolescents’ social com-
petence as a result of a variety of communication partners and identity experiments
online. A survey was conducted among 790 high school students.There appeared to
be no direct effect between playing WoW and adolescents’ social competence and
loneliness. We did find an indirect effect via variety of communication partners.
Adolescents who play WoW vary more in their communication partners, leading to
an increase of social competence and a decrease of loneliness.
More than 90% of Western adolescents from ages 11 to 17
years are frequent users of the Internet (Pew Internet, 2010)
and spend an average of 10 hours per week on online activi-
ties (Ofcom.org, 2010). In several Western countries, more
than 30% of these Internet users play online games on a daily
basis (Ofcom.org, 2010; Pew Internet, 2010). Societal con-
cerns about the amount of time adolescents spend playing
Internet games are increasing. Spending time in this medium
is considered harmful for adolescents, because they would be
living their lives on the Internet instead of in the real world.
Therefore, this could be harmful for their social lives.
These concerns about gaming are frequently explained and
supported by studies that investigate adolescents’ online
behavior (Caplan, 2005; Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004; Harman,
Hansen, Cochran, & Lindsey, 2005; Kraut, Patterson, &
Lundmark, 1998). Spending time online means that you
cannot spend that time offline; for example, practicing social
skills. Practicing social skills is important because young
people need to develop skills as social beings (Gresham &
Nagle, 1980). Therefore,spending a great deal of time on the
Internet leads to a stagnation of social competence. This
assertion is a pessimistic variant of Valkenburg and Peter’s
(2008) Internet-affected social compensation hypothesis,
which states that being online has an influence on the social
competence of adolescents.
The Internet-affected social compensation hypothesis has
a positive variant as well, which states that spending time
on the Internet can increase social competence. The main
reason adolescents use the Internet is for social purposes
(Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008; Williams et al., 2006;
Yee, 2006). They are online to chat, visit social network sites,
and play games with other Internet users. According to the
positive variant of the hypothesis, the social use of the Inter-
net gives adolescents the opportunity to practice their social
skills by experimenting with their identity and talking with a
variety of people. This should positively affect their social
competence (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008). Moreover, being
online provides a range of communication platforms where
social interaction is possible. It is easy for adolescents on the
Internet to get in touch with others (Engelberg & Sjöberg,
2004; Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008).Instead of becom-
ing alienated from the world, the Internet could broaden their
social world (Matsuba, 2006).
Besides the assumption that spending time online has an
influence on the social competence of adolescents, there is
also consensus that being online has effects on another aspect
of the well-being of adolescents. Spending time online could
result in loneliness because the time that is spent online could
also be spent offline, with real people instead of on a compu-
ter (Caplan, 2005, 2007; Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004; Matsuba,
2006). Based on the Internet-affected social compensation
hypothesis (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008), the relationship
between being online and loneliness can also be considered
positive. The Internet has several features that make social
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Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
interaction online easier than in real life (Lo, Wang, &
Fang, 2005; McKenna & Bargh, 2000). Online social
interaction is anonymous, interactive, and has no bounda-
ries. An adolescent can have social interaction and build
friendships on the Internet (Antheunis, Valkenburg, & Peter,
2007, 2010; Ducheneaut & Moore, 2005; Subrahmanyam &
Greenfield, 2008). This online social interaction can replace
disability of social interaction in real life. Therefore, adoles-
cents who have online social interaction may be less lonely
(Yee, 2006).
Previous studies that have investigated the relationship
between the Internet and the social competence and loneli-
ness of adolescents have clearly focused on the negative
consequences of the Internet (Caplan, 2005; Engelberg &
Sjöberg, 2004; Harman et al., 2005; Kraut et al., 1998).
However, these studies do not give a consistent view about the
consequences of Internet use on the social competence and
loneliness of adolescents (Harman et al., 2005; Matsuba,
2006; Wartella & Jennings, 2000). Results are diverse; some
studies support hypotheses that state being online has a nega-
tive influence on the social competence and loneliness of ado-
lescents (Caplan, 2005; Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004; Harman
et al., 2005; Kraut et al., 1998), while other studies do not
(Ducheneaut & Moore, 2005; Matsuba, 2006; Valkenburg &
Peter, 2008; Wartella & Jennings, 2000).
A reason for these inconsistent results could be that these
studies have focused on general Internet use. The research
area of these studies enclosed online communication in
general, instead of a specific area of the Internet. Therefore,
the results are diverse and sometimes inconsistent (Caplan,
2005; Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004; Harman et al., 2005; Kraut
et al., 1998; Matsuba, 2006; Valkenburg & Peter, 2008;
Wartella & Jennings, 2000). The Internet comprises many
diverse applications with different features, and the results
could be much stronger if just one area of the Internet is taken
into account (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007).
The first aim of the present study is to explain the incon-
sistent results of earlier studies, and to gain more insight into
the relationship between spending time online and the social
competence and loneliness of adolescents. In our research, we
decided to focus on one aspect of the Internet that is now fre-
quently used by adolescents for its social function: the online
game World of Warcraft (WoW) (Williams et al., 2006).
Despite the popularity of this game, it is highly criticized in
the media for the hours adolescents spend in the virtual world
of this game, and the possible negative effects, such as addic-
tion and social isolation (Peters & Malesky, 2008).
WoW is by far the most popular massively multiplayer
online role playing games (MMORPGs) at this moment.
There are more than 11 million players throughout the
world who visit the virtual world of WoW on a regular
basis (Bartle, 2010). WoW contains a virtual fantasy world
where people from all over the world can play together at
the same time (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006). The most
typical feature of these MMORPGs is that players must com-
plete certain assignments, which can be violent (e.g.,
running a coup), but also nonviolent (e.g., trading supplies)
in order to move along in the game. To complete those tasks,
players must cooperate continuously, which they do this by
forming guilds. Guilds are playgroups where every member
has his or her own task. Guild members can communicate
with each other through a non-audio instant messenger
service (Ducheneaut & Moore, 2005).
WoW can be seen as a highly interactive game (Schell,
2005). The interactivity of MMORPGs gives players the
opportunity to communicate on a textual basis about the
game, but also about other topics, such as school, hobbies,
and politics. This gives an MMORPG—and thereby WoW—
its social function for adolescents (Ducheneaut & Moore,
2005; Williams et al., 2006; Yee, 2006). The socially oriented
character, next to the popularity of the game, makes WoW a
suitable place to study the Internet use of adolescents and
their social competence and feelings of loneliness.
Another shortcoming in earlier studies is that they did not
specify how use of the Internet is related to social compe-
tence. Studies have investigated the relationship between the
social competence and loneliness of adolescents and their
behavior on the Internet as a simple input–output process
(Caplan, 2005; Ducheneaut & Moore, 2005; Engelberg &
Sjöberg, 2004; Harman et al., 2005; Kraut et al., 1998;
Matsuba, 2006; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007; Wartella &
Jennings, 2000). By investigating underlying mechanisms of
the Internet-affected social compensation hypothesis, we
want to determine if and how these mechanisms could affect
the social competence and loneliness of adolescents, which
might explain the inconsistent results of earlier research
(Caplan, 2005; Ducheneaut & Moore, 2005; Engelberg &
Sjöberg, 2004; Harman et al., 2005; Kraut et al., 1998;
Matsuba, 2006; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007; Wartella &
Jennings, 2000). Hence, the second aim of this study is to
investigate underlying mechanisms of the Internet-affected
social compensation hypothesis that may cause an indirect
effect on social competence and loneliness.
Direct effects
Our first aim is to examine the direct effects of playing WoW
on the social competence and loneliness of adolescents. Gen-
erally, practicing social skills and being in a social setting
increases adolescents’ social competence (Gresham & Nagle,
1980; Hetherington, Parke, Gauvain, & Otis Locke, 2006; Van
Leeuwen & Aarsen, 1994).When the online world of WoW is
seen as a social setting where people meet and practice social
skills, playing this game could increase social competence.
Until recently, few researchers saw games like these as a
social setting (Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004; Harman et al.,
Visser et al. 1509
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
2005; Schot & Selwyn, 2000). Their studies are supported by
the negative variant of the Internet-affected social compensa-
tion hypothesis, which states that being online has a negative
influence on social competence by spending time on the
Internet, instead of practicing social skills in the real world
(Valkenburg & Peter, 2008). However, there are also positive
findings regarding the relationship of being online and social
competence (Ducheneaut & Moore, 2005; Matsuba, 2006;
Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008; Valkenburg & Peter,
2008). For example, Valkenburg and Peter found that online
communication can lead to an increase of social competence.
Because of the inconsistency in previous research, we could
not formulate a hypothesis on the effect of playing WoW on
the social competence of adolescents. Therefore, we investi-
gate the following research question:
Research Question 1. What is the effect of playing WoW
on the social competence of adolescents?
Furthermore, in this study, we want to examine the direct
effect of playing the online game on adolescents’ feelings of
loneliness. Results on this relation are diverse. Some studies
give significant evidence for a positive effect and state that the
time spent online counteracts social activities (Caplan, 2005,
2007; Ducheneaut & Moore, 2005; Engelberg & Sjöberg,
2004; Matsuba, 2006; Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008).
However, other studies claim that the intentions of Internet
use are important (Seepersad, 2004; Valkenburg & Peter,
2008; Yee, 2006). Social intentions can create friendships
online, which have follow-ups in real life. When two people
meet on the Internet and become friends, they can meet in
real life and continue their friendship. These inconsistent
claims lead us to the following research question:
Research Question 2. What is the effect of playing WoW
on the loneliness of adolescents?
Underlying mechanisms
The second aim of our study is to examine the underlying
mechanisms between playing WoW and social competence
and loneliness, based on the positive variant of the Internet-
affected social compensation hypothesis. This variant states
that the influence of being online on social competence is
mediated by two factors; namely, the variety of communica-
tion partners on the Internet, and online identity experi-
ments (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008). In this study, we want to
investigate if this statement also counts for a specific area of
the Internet (e.g., WoW).
We also want to examine if the same underlying mecha-
nisms apply for adolescents’ feelings of loneliness. Like social
competence, loneliness is based on social interaction (Yee,
2006). The Internet has features that make social interaction
easier than in real life, such as interactivity, anonymity, and
having no boundaries (Lo et al., 2005; McKenna & Bargh,
2000). Therefore,we want to examine if the Internet-affected
social compensation hypothesis also accounts for a decrease
in loneliness.
Identity experiments
The first factor that may mediate the relationship between
being online and the social competence of adolescents
is the opportunity for online identity experiments
(Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008; Valkenburg & Peter,
2008). The main reason for WoW players to play the game is
its social function (Lo et al., 2005; Williams et al., 2006; Yee,
2006). Online communication on WoW has three important
features over offline communication. First, WoW provides
anonymity. WoW Players can act without showing their real
identity (Lo et al., 2005; McKenna & Bargh, 2000). Second,
the game is interactive. Unlike in the real world, a player must
interact with others. WoW players must respond to each
other and cooperate to succeed (Lo et al., 2005; McKenna &
Bargh, 2000). Finally, WoW has no geographical boundaries.
People from all over the world play WoW. The real world is
limited to the adolescent’s actual environment (Lo et al.,
2005; McKenna & Bargh, 2000). These features form a stimu-
lating environment for WoW players in which to experiment
with their identity (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008).
WoW players can choose to form a character that is differ-
ent from their own personality. Because of the anonymous
feature of the game, they can try out different kinds of activi-
ties in various social situations. When an activity does not
work out, players can adopt another game character and try
again. In this way, WoW players practice their social skills,
which can lead to an improvement of social competence.This
view is supported by several studies about online communi-
cation (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006; Subrahmanyam &
Greenfield, 2008; Suler, 2005; Valkenburg & Peter, 2008).
Considering the beneficial features of the online environment
of WoW, we expect that this empirical evidence on online
communication in general can also be applied to playing
WoW. Therefore,we formulate the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1. Adolescents who play WoW will experi-
ment more with their identity.
Hypothesis 2. Identity experiments on WoW will
enhance the social competence of adolescents.
Variety of communication partners
The second factor that may mediate the relationship between
being online and the social competence of adolescents is the
variety of online communication partners (Valkenburg &
Peter, 2008). Socializing with different kinds of people
is important for practicing social skills (Gresham &
Nagle, 1980; Van Leeuwen & Aarsen, 1994). In this way,
people evolve in various social interactions and receive more
1510 Effect of World of Warcraft on social well-being
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
confidence because they have more variety in their social
contact. Some people who are not part of a social network
cannot practice their social skills. The Internet could
provide a social platform where they can meet people
(Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008). This enhances social
skills and the way people think about themselves (McKenna &
Bargh, 2000; Wartella & Jennings, 2000).
WoW is a social platform where different kinds of people
can gather and communicate with each other. By meeting a
variety of people and communicating with them, WoW
players can practice their social skills and become more
socially competent. This has received empirical support in
several studies. A positive correlation between being online
and social competence was found by Ducheneaut and Moore
(2005), McKenna and Bargh (2000), and Valkenburg and
Peter (2008). Therefore, our expectations with regard to a
variety of communication partners as a mediating factor are
as follows:
Hypothesis 3. Adolescents who play WoW will increase
their variety of communication partners.
Hypothesis 4. A variety of communication partners
on WoW will enhance the social competence of
adolescents.
Loneliness and the Internet-affected
social compensation hypothesis
Besides these hypothesized mediating effects between playing
WoW and social competence, we think that the underlying
mechanisms of the Internet-affected social compensation
hypothesis could also affect adolescents’ loneliness. Accord-
ing to the positive variant of this hypothesis, a variety of com-
munication partners and identity experiments lead to an
increase in social competence because these underlying
factors give ground to practicing social skills. This practice is
enabled by social interaction with other people on the Inter-
net (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008). It is important to reveal an
effect of playing online games such as WoW on adolescents’
feelings of loneliness, since feeling included is of crucial
importance to adolescents’ social development (Rokach &
Neto, 2000).
Lonely adolescents appear to have fewer offline social
interaction and fewer friends than do their non-lonely peers
(Gross, Juvonen, & Gable, 2002). Social interaction on the
Internet has several features that appear to make interaction
easier than in real life, like anonymity, interactivity, and
having no boundaries (Lo et al., 2005; McKenna & Bargh,
2000). Therefore,online communication would be an appeal-
ing alternative for lonely adolescents’ social interaction.
According to Gross et al. (2002), lonely adolescents often
use the Internet to talk with unacquainted people, in contrast
with non-lonely adolescents, who spend more time on the
Internet communicating with people they already know. This
is probably because of the absence of friends in lonely adoles-
cents’ offline social life. Lonely adolescents,therefore, seem to
use online platforms to experiment with their identity more
than do their non-lonely peers (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008).
This kind of social interaction with other people can decrease
feelings of loneliness (Rokach & Neto, 2000; Yee, 2006). Social
interaction is the key factor of the Internet-affected social
compensation hypothesis. Therefore, it is likely that this
hypothesis applies for decreasing loneliness as well.
Considering these arguments, we expect that the Internet-
affected social compensation hypothesis might also be appli-
cable to adolescents’ feelings of loneliness when playing
WoW. Therefore,we formulate the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 5. Identity experiments on WoW will
decrease adolescents’ feelings of loneliness.
Hypothesis 6. A variety of communication partners on
WoW will decrease adolescents’ feelings of loneliness.
Method
Sample
In December 2008, we conducted a survey among 648 high
school students. Only 15.4% (100 respondents) playedWoW.
Because the aim of this research is to make a comparison
between WoW players and non-WoW players, we decided to
administer the survey online as well. Therefore, we used a
popular social network site where WoW players have their
own community. Consequently, we reached 152 adolescents
who played WoW.Eventually,we had a sample of 789 students
(389 girls, 400 boys), of whom 241 were WoW players
(30.5%) and 548 were non-WoW players (69.5%). The age of
the participants ranged from 11 to 20 years (M=14.8 years,
SD =1.8).
Procedure
The procedures for the online and offline surveys were com-
parable to one another.In school, the students received a brief
introduction on paper before completing the survey that was
distributed to them. Online, the survey was introduced on the
WoW community, which contained a link to the online
survey. Before the online survey started, the participants
received a brief online introduction. In both surveys, the
introduction was the same. The introduction explained that
the survey contained questions about online games and social
relationships, and that they could end their participation in
the study at any time. After the introduction, all respondents
were asked if they wanted to participate and complete the
questionnaire individually. A subsequent analysis revealed
that there were no significant differences between the
Visser et al. 1511
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
respondents recruited in the high school and the respondents
recruited online on the WoW community.
We took several measures to assure the respondents’ confi-
dentiality and privacy. In the introduction, we emphasized
that the answers would be analyzed only by us, the investiga-
tors. We also assured the respondents that their answers
would be treated confidentially. Finally, respondents were
asked to make sure that they completed the questionnaire in
private.
Measures
Social competence
We used a 19-item self-report instrument to measure adoles-
cents’ offline social competence. This instrument was
designed by Valkenburg and Peter (2008) and is based on
four different dimensions of social competence: initiation
of (offline) relationships, supportiveness, assertiveness, and
ability to self-disclose. The exact instruction is as follows:
Some teenagers find it easy to talk and deal with people,
others find it hard. The questions below deal with how
you communicated with people in the past six months.
If you haven’t experienced these specific situations,
please imagine how it would be like if you were. How
easy or difficult was it in the past six months to . . .
Sample items are “start a new friendship,” “help someone
when you were asked to,” and “tell someone that you liked
her/him.” Responses were rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale
ranging from 1 (very difficult)to5(very easy).
The four dimensions that were distinguished a priori were
empirically verified in a confirmatory factor analysis (direct
oblimin rotation). The items,factor loadings, and Cronbach’s
alphas of the scales are presented in Table 1. The four dimen-
sions loaded on one factor and resulted in a Cronbach’s alpha
of .86 (M=3.59, SD =0.51).
Loneliness
We used the UCLA Loneliness Scale to measure loneliness
(Russell, 1996). We decided to select 8 items for our survey
that had the highest item-total correlations from the 20-
item Loneliness Scale, based on Valkenburg and Peter’s
(2008) research. Responses were rated on a 5-point scale
ranging from 1 (never)to5(very often). The 8 remaining
items formed a one-dimensional scale (explained vari-
ance =37.4%) with a Cronbach’s alpha of .76 (M=1.22,
SD =0.29).
Variety of online communication partners
We used 12 items, created by Valkenburg and Peter (2008) to
measure the tendency of adolescents to communicate with
Table 1 Four Dimensions in Social Competence
How easy or difficult was it
for you in the past six months
to...? Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4
Factor 1: Initiation of (offline) relationships
1. Start a conversation with
someone you did not
know very well
.691 .120 .107 .204
2. Introduce yourself for the
first time to someone
.645 .156 -.053 .062
3. Call someone whom you
wanted to get to know
better
.586 .196 .252 .155
4. Start a new friendship .546 .018 .334 .139
5. Ask someone to get
together and do
something
.384 .249 .216 .192
Factor 2: Supportiveness
6. Help others cope with an
unpleasant experience
.031 .756 -.073 .066
7. Comfort someone who is
feeling down
.145 .700 .215 .056
8. Listen carefully to
someone who told you
about a problem he or
she is experiencing
.189 .615 .111 .104
9. Help someone to feel at
ease
.067 .486 .057 .129
10. Help someone when he
or she asked you
.241 .484 .251 .166
Factor 3: Ability to self-disclose
11. Tell someone that he or
she is attractive
.344 -.086 .950 .172
12. Tell someone that you
liked him or her
.141 .109 .885 .123
13. Tell others about things
you are ashamed of
.346 .090 .405 .226
14. Show your sensitive side
to others
.023 .218 .272 .062
15. Express your feelings to
someone else
-.006 .288 .249 .010
Factor 4: Assertiveness
16. Stand up for yourself
when someone made a
fool of you
.129 .030 .137 .896
17. Stand up for your rights
when someone wronged
you
.149 .063 .224 .860
18. Stand up for yourself
when someone accused
you of something you did
not do
.150 .205 .027 .639
19. Stand up for someone
else who was made a
fool of
.218 .233 .093 .338
Cronbach’s a.73 .77 .77 .80
Scale means 3.67 3.98 2.88 3.90
1512 Effect of World of Warcraft on social well-being
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
people with different kinds of social and ethnic backgrounds.
Sample items are “When you are playing World of Warcraft,
how often do you talk to people who (a) are older than you?
(b) have a different skin color? (c) live abroad?” Responses
were rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never)to5
(almost always). The items formed a one-dimensional scale
(explained variance =49.1%) with a Cronbach’s alpha of .90
(M=2.85, SD =0.89).
Online identity experiments
To measure the frequency with which adolescents pretend to
be someone else when playing WoW, we used a 12-item scale
based on the design of Valkenburg and Peter (2008). Sample
items are “When you play World of Warcraft, do you ever
pretend to be someone who (a) is more attractive? (b) is more
intelligent? (c) is less shy?”Responses were rated on a 4-point
scale ranging from 1 (never)to4(almost always). The 12
items loaded on one factor (explained variance =47.5%) and
resulted in a Cronbach’s alpha of .89 (M=1.22, SD =0.42).
Results
Descriptive analyses
Of the 789 individuals who participated in our survey, 241
adolescents (30.5%) played WoW. Boys (82.6%) played the
game more often than did girls (17.4%). The average time
WoW players spent on the game was 16 hours per week. The
participants who did not play WoW could not answer ques-
tions about the underlying mechanisms. Therefore, we only
included the participants who play WoW (n=241) to analyz-
ing the underlying mechanisms. However, we included non-
WoW players (n=548) in our analyses to examine a direct
effect of playing WoW on social competence and loneliness.
About 34% of the adolescents who play WoW indicated
that they sometimes or often experiment with their identity
while playing the game. In addition, 66% indicated that they
almost never or never experiment with their identity while
playing WoW. Many players admitted to communicating
with people who are different than themselves.When answer-
ing the questions about the variety of communication part-
ners, almost every WoW player (96.7%) stated that he or she
sometimes,often,oralways talks with a variety of people on
WoW. Only 3.3% of all WoW players indicated that they
almost never or never talk with people with different social or
ethnic backgrounds or ages.
All respondents answered the questions about social
competence and loneliness (N=789). The perceived social
competence of the respondents was very high (M=3.60,
SD =0.50, on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5). More than
half of the respondents scored a mean value of 4 or 5. Finally,
about one quarter of the respondents indicated that they
sometimes feel lonely. In addition,75% stated they feel lonely
almost never or never.
Zero-order correlations between
study variables
The correlations between the variables are presented in a
zero-order correlation matrix in Table 2. This matrix shows
that social competence was positively related to the variety of
communication partners on WoW, as well as to loneliness.
However, social competence was negatively related to online
identity experiments. Social competence and loneliness were
correlated negatively. When an adolescent had high social
competence, he was less lonely. Gender was related to social
competence, loneliness, and the variety of communication
partners on WoW. According to this study, boys have higher
social competence, are less lonely, and have more variety in
their communication partners on WoW than do girls. Age
was related only to social competence. When adolescents
became older,their social competence increased.
Testing the direct effects
The first aim of this study was to examine a possible direct
effect between playing WoW and social competence and
loneliness. The answer to Research Question 1 regarding
whether playing WoW has a direct effect on adolescents’
social competence was obtained by comparing the two means
of WoW players and non-WoW players on their level of social
competence. Results of the independent t-test shows that
there was no significant difference in social competence
between WoW players and non-WoW players (WoW players:
M=3.62, SD =0.56; non-WoW players: M=3.60, SD =
0.49), t(759) =0.62, ns. However, effects could also be found
by looking at the amount of time a player spends on WoW
and social competence. Therefore, we conducted a regression
analysis. The results show that there is no significant direct
effect of the amount of time playing WoW on adolescents’
social competence (B=.01; SE =.00; b=.12, ns).
Research Question 2 asked if there is a direct effect
of playing WoW on loneliness. Again, the results of an
Table 2 Zero-Order Correlation Matrix
Variable 1 2 3 4
1. Social competence —
2. Loneliness -.412** —
3. Variety of communication
partners
.155* -.153* —
4. Online identity
experiments
-.189** .270** .045 —
5. Age .116** -.032 .068 .103
6. Gender -.093* .092* -.128* -.009
*p<.05. **p<.01.
Visser et al. 1513
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
independent ttest show that there was no difference in
the level of loneliness between WoW players (M=1.27,
SD =0.62) and non-WoW players (M=1.20, SD =0.54),
t(779) =1.62, ns. Furthermore, there was no significant effect
of time spent playing WoW on loneliness (B=.00; SE =.00;
b=-.05, ns). This means that there was no direct relation
between playing WoW and loneliness.
Testing the Internet-affected social
compensation hypothesis: social competence
The second aim of our study was to examine the underlying
mechanisms between playing WoW and social competence
and loneliness, based on the positive variant of the Internet-
affected social compensation hypothesis (for a path diagram
of both models, see Figures 1 and 2). We tested the hypoth-
esized model with structural equation modeling (SEM) using
AMOS 18.0. Two indexes were used to evaluate the fit of our
model: root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)
and comparative fit index (CFI). Particularly in the case of
large samples, these indexes are considered as informative
criteria in SEM (Byrne, 2001). A reasonable model fit is
expressed in an RMSEA value less than .06 and a CFI value
greater than .90 (Byrne, 2001). Our hypothesized model fit
the data well, c2(2, N=241) =2.85 p=.24 (CFI =.964;
RMSEA =.042; 90% confidence interval [CI] =.000–.142).
Hypothesis 1 predicted that playing WoW would increase
online identity experiments of adolescents during the game.
The results show that there was no relation between the
amount of time spent playing WoW and identity experiments
(b=.06, ns). This means that the amount of time of playing
WoW did not lead to more identity experiments.
Hypothesis 2 predicted that online identity experiments
would lead to an increase of social competence. This hypoth-
esis was not supported, either. Experimenting with identity
correlated significantly negatively with social competence
(b=-.20, p<.01). This means that identity experiments on
WoW did not lead to higher social competence, indicating
no support for our second hypothesis. Because there was no
relationship between time spent on WoW and identity
experiments, there could be no mediating effect of identity
experiments between playing WoW and social competence.
According to Hypothesis 3, playing WoW should increase
the variety of communication partners on WoW. The results
support this hypothesis (b=.23, p<.001). The amount of
time spent playing WoW had a significant positive relation-
ship with variety of communication partners. Therefore, our
third hypothesis was supported.
Hypothesis 4 stated that a variety of communication part-
ners would enhance social competence. This hypothesis was
supported. There was, indeed, a significant positive relation
between the variety of communication partners and the
social competence of adolescents who play WoW (b=.12,
p<.05). Based on these results, we can state that a variety of
communication partners would enhance social competence.
To test the significance of this indirect effect, we applied
bootstrapping procedures using AMOS 18.0. This involved
generating 20,000 random bootstrap samples with replace-
ment from the dataset (N=241) and testing the model
20,000 times with these samples. This allows a mean media-
tion affect to be estimated, along with 90% bias-corrected
confidence intervals (BCIs) for the estimates. The signifi-
cance of the mean mediation effect is indicated by whether
the value of 0 falls within or outside this confidence interval.
If it falls outside, the indirect effect is significant. The 90%
BCI for this indirect effect was estimated to lie between .003
and .066. Because 0 is not in this confidence interval, the indi-
rect effect was significantly different from 0.
Testing the Internet-affected social
compensation hypothesis: loneliness
Furthermore, we formulated two hypotheses about loneliness
and the Internet-affected social compensation hypothesis.
We expected that the two underlying mechanisms (i.e.,
identity experiments, variety of communication partners)
Social
competence
Variety of
communication
partners
Online
identity
experiments
Amount of
time playing
WoW
β = .06, ns β = -.20**
β =
.23***
β= .12*
Figure 1 Playing WoW and underlying mechanisms: social compe-
tence. *p <.05. **p <.01. ***p <.001.
Loneliness
Variety of
communication
partners
Online
identity
experiments
Amount of
time playing
WoW
β = .06, ns β = .28∗∗∗
β =
.23*** β= -.17**
Figure 2 Playing WoW and underlying mechanisms: loneliness.
**p <.01. ***p <.001.
1514 Effect of World of Warcraft on social well-being
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
would also mediate the relationship between WoW and
loneliness. The hypothesized model fit the data well, c2(2,
N=241) =0.40, p=.82 (CFI =1.000; RMSEA =.000; 90%
CI =.000–.077).
Hypothesis 5 predicted that identity experiments would
lead to a decrease of loneliness. The model shows that
there was a significant effect (b=.28, p<.001). This means
that identity experiments led to an increase of loneliness.
However, according to our results, playing WoW does not
lead to an increase in identity experiments, contrary to
Hypothesis 1. Thus, there could be no effect of playing WoW
on loneliness, mediated by online identity experiments.
Finally,Hypothesis 6 proposed that a variety of communi-
cation partners on WoW would decrease adolescents’ feelings
of loneliness. It appears that loneliness decreased when an
adolescent has more variety in his communication partners
(b=-.17, p<.01). Furthermore, it appears that playing
WoW increases the variety of communication partners on
WoW, as supported in Hypothesis 3, which suggests an indi-
rect effect.
To test the significance of this indirect effect, we applied
bootstrapping procedures. The 90% BCI for this indirect
effect was estimated to lie between -.072 and -.015. Because 0
is not in this confidence interval, the indirect effect was sig-
nificantly different from 0.
Discussion
In the present study, we examined the relationship between
playing the online game WoW and adolescents’ social
competence and loneliness. We also focused on indirect
effects by exploring some underlying mechanisms, accord-
ing to the Internet-affected social compensation hypothesis.
This hypothesis states that being online has an effect on peo-
ple’s social competence as a result of social interaction on the
Internet (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008).
The first aim of our study was to examine if playing WoW
affects adolescents’ social competence and loneliness directly.
According to our results, there were no direct effects of
playing WoW on social competence and loneliness. It appears
that adolescents who play WoW do not differ significantly in
their social competence and loneliness, compared to adoles-
cents who do not play this online game. This means that
playing WoW does not have a positive influence; however, it
does not have a negative influence on social competence and
loneliness, either. This finding is different from past studies
(Caplan, 2005, 2007; Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004; Harman
et al., 2005; Matsuba, 2006; Schot & Selwyn, 2000).
Moreover, the amount of time an adolescent spends on
WoW has no relation with his or her social competence and
loneliness. This contradicts the pessimistic variant of the
social compensation hypothesis, which states that being
online has a negative influence on adolescents’ social compe-
tence and loneliness (Caplan, 2005; Engelberg & Sjöberg,
2004; Harman et al., 2005; Kraut et al., 1998). Our study
shows that the concerns and the overall negative paradigm
about online games should be re-evaluated in light of social
competence and loneliness. According to our study, we can
conclude that there seems to be no direct effect of playing
WoW on the social competence and loneliness of adolescents.
The second aim of our study was to examine underlying
mechanisms of the relationship between playing WoW and
social competence and loneliness, according to the Internet-
affected social compensation hypothesis. According to our
results, it appears that online identity experiments are not a
mediating factor in the relationship between playing WoW
and social competence and loneliness. The amount of time
spent playing WoW did not increase identity experiments.
Moreover, identity experiments did not have an effect on the
social competence of WoW players.
Our results about the underlying mechanisms of a possible
indirect effect contradict the findings of Valkenburg and
Peter (2008),who examined these mechanisms based on their
positive variant of the Internet-affected social compensation
hypothesis. They stated that online communication results in
an increase in social competence as a result of an increase
in the variety of communication partners and the increase in
identity experiments.
A possible explanation for our results’ inconsistency with
the study of Valkenburg and Peter (2008) is our focus on one
specific Internet application; namely, WoW. Valkenburg and
Peter used multiple applications of the Internet where young
people communicate. Another explanation for our study’s
inconsistency with Valkenburg and Peter’s results is that the
game element of WoW is more important than is the social
element of the game. This could lead to a different use of
identity experiments, the first underlying mechanism that
might facilitate an indirect effect of playing WoW on the
social competence and loneliness of adolescents, according to
the social compensation hypothesis. When a WoW player
pretends to be someone else, it could be a strategic move to
influence the outcome of the game (Schell, 2005). Therefore,
we think identity experiments in WoW are different,
for example, from identity experiments in chatrooms,
where experiments are mostly used to explore identities
(Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006; Suler, 2005; Valkenburg &
Peter, 2008).
The second underlying mechanism that might facilitate an
indirect effect of playing WoW on the social competence and
loneliness of adolescents, according to the social compensa-
tion hypothesis, is the variety of communication partners. In
line with other research (Valkenburg & Peter, 2008),our study
shows the validity of this mediating factor. It appears that
people who spend more time playing WoW have more variety
in their communication partners. Moreover, our hypothesis
that a variety of communication partners would increase
Visser et al. 1515
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2013, 43, pp. 1508–1517
social competence was supported. In the present study,
we found that variety in communication partners indeed
facilitates an indirect effect between playing WoW and social
competence.
Furthermore, we examined the relationship between
online communication and loneliness. The present study
showed that the variety of communication partners did have
a negative effect on loneliness. People who communicate with
a variety of people in WoW are less lonely, which, in turn,
enhances social well-being. Moreover, the decrease in loneli-
ness had a positive relation with the social well-being of ado-
lescents. However, online identity experiments also had a
positive relationship with feelings of loneliness. This means
that people who experiment more with their identity feel
lonelier. As stated earlier, this result can be from the possible
strategic meaning of identity experiments in WoW. There-
fore, identity experiments do not have a function for social
development.
Although our study sheds new light on the relationship
between online gaming and social competence and its under-
lying mechanisms, we recognize that our study has some limi-
tations. First, the direct effects that we found were relatively
small. It is possible that our sample of 241 WoW players was
too small to find significant effects. It could also be that we
read too much into our null findings regarding the direct
effects of playing WoW. Therefore, we recommend that future
research use larger sample sizes to examine such small effects.
Second, we used a cross-sectional design, rather than an
experimental or longitudinal design. Although we based our
hypotheses on previous theories and research (which have
established a clear causal direction for several of our relation-
ships), our results, which are based on cross-sectional data,
cannot preclude the possibility of reversed causal relation-
ships. According to Baym, Zhang, and Lin (2004) using online
communication might attract adolescents with a certain
degree of social competence. Therefore,longitudinal research
to examine causal relationships might be more suitable.
Moreover, to examine a complex construct like social
competence, an experimental design might fit better. In this
way, expression and perception of nonverbal behavior could
be studied, which are imperative domains of social compe-
tence, but could not be studied by using self-report ques-
tionnaires. However, experimental and longitudinal studies
require considerable time and are expensive. Furthermore,
the field of research on online gaming (particularly
MMORPGs) is still young. Conducting experimental and
longitudinal studies before establishing basic relationships
seems very risky. By conducting the present study, we
found some interesting results concerning the relationship
between online gaming and social competence. Therefore,
we recommend that future research focus on the possibility
of reversed causal relationships.
Third, we did not study players’ motivation in this research.
Although we based our hypotheses on different studies that
have stated that the main motivation for adolescents to play
online games is their social function, we should have consid-
ered that there might be game-based motives as well. Chang-
ing one’s identity can be a strategic move (Schell, 2005).
Therefore, it is not necessarily expedient for social develop-
ment, which we unfortunately underestimated in the present
study. However, we found some important relationships
between online gaming and social competence and loneli-
ness, setting aside WoW players’ motivations. Studying the
motivations could be an interesting topic for future study.
With the present study, we showed that playing online
games like WoW might be beneficial for adolescents.
However, this is only for improving social competence and
reducing loneliness by meeting different kinds of people. Our
research did not study other effects of playing online games,
such as health-related effects. Therefore, more research is
needed to provide a clear view of the overall effects of playing
online games like WoW.
Nevertheless, in processing the present results, we can con-
clude that the pessimistic variant of the social compensation
hypothesis should be reconsidered. Playing WoW does not
decrease social competence and does not increase loneliness.
Moreover, we can state that a variety of communication part-
ners is an underlying mechanism in the relationship between
online communication and social competence and loneli-
ness. Our findings suggest that WoW players gain their social
competence and decrease their loneliness by the variety
of communication partners they have. Furthermore, non-
players probably gain their social competence and decrease
their loneliness in other settings than online games.
Online identity experiments appear not to be an underly-
ing mechanism. This could be explained by the nature of
WoW. Despite its largely social function,WoW is still a game.
This might be the reason for the disposition of identity
experiments. We recommend further research in spending
time online and the social competence and loneliness of ado-
lescents in other applications of the Internet, where there is
not such a competitive atmosphere as in WoW.
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