immersive activities. One such activity is online gaming, where thousands of Internet
users meet and interact with each another in virtual worlds that have evolved into true
virtual communities.
In this paper we search for signs of social capital in one specific type of Internet
environment: the massively-multiplayer online game (MMOG). As MMOGs have
become increasingly widespread and populous, the communities within them have
become proportionately immersive and organized. We begin with a brief summary of
Putnam’s argument for the decline of social capital, and consider several responses from
political scientists. A case is then made for the potential of MMOGs as fresh reservoirs
of social capital that Putnam could not have envisioned at the time Bowling Alone was
written. Then, we analyze survey data from MMOG users, looking for signs of increased
social connectedness and political participation. Finally, we offer conclusions on the
utility of the Internet in promoting social capital in the twenty-first century.
Past Social Capital Research
Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone (2000) details the rise and fall of social capital in
the United States during the twentieth-century. Social capital, as conceptualized by
Putnam, is the existence of social connectedness leading to interpersonal trust and
political participation. Social capital is both a private and a public good. It benefits the
individual, giving him or her a sense of belonging, happiness, and possibly even a better
job somewhere down the road. It then translates into a public good, where everyone
works together on the basis of trust, and we achieve a marvelously well-functioning civil
society as a result. Putnam further distinguishes between bonding and bridging social
capital. Bonding is within-group development that strengthens existing social
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Convention