Do Locations of Employment and Residence Influence whether People Use Virtual Social Networks? A Case Study of Residents in Wuhan, China

Abstract

High-speed information technology development has made virtual social networking (VSN) a social interaction trend. Studies have been carried out to investigate the spatial clustering characteristics of the locations where there is online social interaction, but they have not yet concentrated on the geographic phenomenon associated with the distribution of occupational and residential locations of citizens who use VSN. According to usage statistics gathered from China Unicom for people living in the Wuhan metropolitan development area, there are geographical characteristics for the sites of employment and residence of virtual social application (VSA) users. Compared with people who live or work in the central city, suburban citizens are more willing to conduct virtual social networking, and those who are most likely to do so are concentrated in the suburbs 20–30 km from the main city. Additionally, we used geographically weighted regressions to evaluate the relationship between the density of physical social facilities and the possibility of the usage of VSAs, revealing the influence of various conventional social conveniences on the propensity to use the VSA. Residents are more inclined to engage in VSN in places where traditional social interaction is inconvenient, particularly in suburbs, indicating that VSN is an addition to traditional social interaction. Nonetheless, neither an improvement in, nor the replacement of, VSN activities is apparent in places where conventional socializing is practical. This study identified the clustering of virtual social users’ places of employment and residence in metropolitan areas and concluded that virtual social interaction offers new social channels for people who lack access to adequate physical social facilities; that is, it complements traditional social interaction. These results can deepen the understanding of the relationship between traditional social interaction and VSN. They also offer a fresh viewpoint on facility planning for the potential future creation of a more balanced and diverse social interaction environment through the joint planning of virtual and physical social facilities.