Influencing factors for building social capital on live streaming websites

•Watching others play on live streaming platforms helps to build social capital.•Specifically, self-disclosure helps to form bonding social capital.•Physical contact gains importance regarding the formation of bonding social capital.•Parasocial interaction with the streamer helps to acquire bridging social capital. In recent years, live streaming websites have evolved into popular meeting places for people interested in video games. While earlier research found that the joint playing of online video games might foster social capital, watching an individual streamer playing seems to be a non-social experience. However, the corresponding live chat might offer the chance to interact and bond with like-minded people. The present study investigates the influence of physical proximity, social proximity and familiarity on communication frequency and self-disclosure of live stream viewers. Moreover, we examine the role of parasocial interaction with the streamer, and analyze whether these factors influence the formation of bridging and bonding social capital. A total of 164 live streaming website users were recruited for an online survey. A structural path model yielded several significant relations: In particular, regular website visits and assuming the role of a moderator facilitate the formation of social capital. Interaction with the streamer emerged as a further influencing factor. The results demonstrate that live streams are more than a passive leisure activity, and instead offer the opportunity to interact and form weak and strong social ties.