Table 2.
The distribution and characteristics of the four social network group types.
| Variables |
Cluster 1 |
Cluster 2 |
Cluster 3 |
Cluster 4 |
χ2 | p | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted |
Personal and working |
Personal |
Diverse |
|||||||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |||||||
| Online social network | ||||||||||
| Relatives | 481 | (8.60) | 2363 | (42.26) | 2066 | (36.95) | 681 | (12.18) | 7701.09 | *** |
| Friends | 237 | (4.78) | 2366 | (96.30) | 2022 | (93.14) | 688 | (98.71) | 8436.11 | *** |
| Classmates/alumni | 172 | (3.47) | 1667 | (67.85) | 1316 | (60.62) | 649 | (93.11) | 4854.97 | *** |
| Neighbors | 180 | (3.63) | 871 | (35.45) | 712 | (32.80) | 507 | (72.74) | 2420.74 | *** |
| Fellow villagers | 139 | (2.80) | 558 | (22.71) | 531 | (24.46) | 480 | (68.87) | 2218.67 | *** |
| Colleagues | 358 | (7.22) | 2457 | (100.00) | 0 | (0.00) | 616 | (88.38) | 8466.18 | *** |
| Professional organizations/unions | 123 | (2.48) | 620 | (25.23) | 226 | (10.41) | 516 | (74.03) | 2836.97 | *** |
| Interests and hobbies | 104 | (2.10) | 470 | (19.13) | 458 | (21.10) | 562 | (80.63) | 3013.43 | *** |
| Nonprofit | 42 | (0.85) | 204 | (8.30) | 171 | (7.88) | 362 | (51.94) | 2281.44 | *** |
| Religious | 24 | (0.48) | 49 | (1.99) | 52 | (2.40) | 26 | (3.73) | 75.41 | *** |
| Human rights protection | 11 | (0.22) | 55 | (2.24) | 19 | (0.88) | 69 | (9.90) | 403.03 | *** |
| Other online social groups | 33 | (0.67) | 44 | (1.79) | 50 | (2.30) | 16 | (2.30) | 39.20 | *** |
| Offline social network | ||||||||||
| Alumni associations | 308 | (6.21) | 588 | (23.93) | 522 | (24.04) | 482 | (69.15) | 1776.31 | *** |
| Fellow villagers | 188 | (3.79) | 156 | (6.35) | 135 | (6.22) | 182 | (26.11) | 506.36 | *** |
| Professional organizations | 137 | (2.76) | 417 | (16.97) | 82 | (3.78) | 260 | (37.30) | 1213.89 | *** |
| Interests and hobbies | 318 | (6.42) | 388 | (15.79) | 440 | (20.27) | 455 | (65.28) | 1662.66 | *** |
| Nonprofit | 142 | (2.86) | 158 | (6.43) | 157 | (7.23) | 202 | (28.98) | 698.30 | *** |
| Religious groups | 162 | (3.27) | 52 | (2.12) | 59 | (2.72) | 24 | (3.44) | 8.76 | *** |
| Other offline social groups | 91 | (1.84) | 46 | (1.87) | 26 | (1.20) | 16 | (2.30) | 5.51 | |
| Social network group type | ||||||||||
| Personal-relateda | 1276 | (25.74) | 2457 | (100.00) | 2171 | (100.00) | 697 | (100.00) | 6159.34 | *** |
| Occupational-relatedb | 502 | (10.13) | 2457 | (100.00) | 269 | (12.39) | 656 | (94.12) | 7195.82 | *** |
| Othersc | 749 | (15.11) | 1016 | (41.35) | 880 | (40.53) | 664 | (95.27) | 2096.87 | *** |
Personal-related social network groups mean the percentage of individuals belonging to any type of personal online and offline social group, including relatives, friends, classmates, alumni groups or associations, neighbors, and fellow villagers.
Occupational-related social network groups represent the percentage of individuals belonging to any type of online and offline working group, including colleagues and professional organizations/unions.
Other social network groups mean the percentage of individuals joining other types of online and offline social groups except personal and working types, including interests, hobbies, nonprofit, religious, and human rights protection. ***p < 0.001.