Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how the intensity use of WeChat is associated with perceived social capital and psychological well-being factors among Chinese international students in Germany. Design/methodology/approach – Based on an online survey data collected from 212 Chinese international college students in Germany, correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were sequentially implemented to deal with the research questions. Findings – The correlation analysis results indicate that the intensity of WeChat use is positively correlated with bridging, bonding, and maintained social capital. Additionally, a path model demonstrates that bonding social capital is positively related to life satisfaction and negatively related to the sense of loneliness. Furthermore, both bonding and maintained social capital mediate the relationship between WeChat use and these two well-being outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Theoretically, the research is an initial study contributing to the existing social media literature on evaluating the effects of WeChat use on social capital and well-being. Practically, these obtained results can be beneficial to the understanding the dynamics of how social media may potentially impact students’ social connectedness and life quality. Originality/value – Although WeChat has become the most prevalent social networking site in Mainland China, the social and psychological implications of the emerging technology are not completely understood. The paper offers evidence that WeChat has functioned as an efficient platform for sojourners to develop diverse types of social capital and promote well-being in an intercultural setting.

Introduction

Over the past few decades, the worldwide explosion of social networking websites (SNSs) has dramatically transformed individual’s social behaviors and networking practices across diverse cultures, nations, and regions. Due to the advantages of convenience of access and the low cost, these communication technologies serve as an alternative and innovative avenue for users to interact with others, and to maintain and strengthen networked interpersonal relations (Chang and Hsu, 2016; Mao and Qian, 2015; Pang, 2018). A recent media investigation shows that the utilization of SNSs is currently the most prevalent online activity around the world, particularly among digital-savvy younger generation (Tsai and Men, 2017). Moreover, prior research has indicated that college students’ social media adoption and their engagement in various online activities through the site are related to a range of social and psychological consequences including perceived social capital, civic and political engagement, and satisfaction with life (Burke and Kraut, 2016; Lin and Wang, 2017; Raza et al., 2017). Consequently, the unprecedented popularity and exponential growth of social media make it imperative to comprehend the nature of this newly emerging media and its potential implications for users’ social connectedness and well-being in the digital era. A plethora of scientific literature has consistently confirmed that using SNSs may foster college students’ social interaction and network establishment, and subsequently contributing positively to their personal connections and psychological development (Burke and Kraut, 2016; Nardon et al., 2015; Sandel, 2014). However, surprisingly, the majority of the previous studies in this area have concentrated mainly on Facebook use in western society (Basilisco and Cha, 2015; Lambert, 2016; Sandel, 2014). Comparatively, only a few reports have empirically unearthed the possible effects of indigenous SNS use, especially WeChat on individuals’ social capital and well-being consequences (Wen et al., 2016). Actually, among various domestic SNSs available in Mainland China, WeChat has been the most widely utilized social networking service with approximately 846 million active users as of April 2017 (Tencent, 2017).