Gustavo Mesch and Ilan Talmud
Recent studies have shown that adolescents use the Internet not only to maintain
social relationships with distant relatives and friends but also to create new
relationships online; some of these friendships become integrated into their
social circle. Research has focused mainly on the effect of the Internet on
existing relationships or the nature of online only ties, so studies comparing
the quality of online and face-to-face relationships are missing. The goal of
the current study is to bridge this gap. In keeping with previous studies on
social association, we argue that the quality of social relationships is dependent
on duration and diversity of topics and activities carried together. Time is
important as it facilitates the development of a collective shared history and
identity. Intimacy develops through the participation in shared activities and
discussion of diverse issues of personal concern. Using a representative sample
of the adolescent population in Israel, we find that closeness to a friend is
a function of social similarity, content and activity multiplexity and duration
of the relationships. Friendships originated in the Internet are perceived as
less close and supportive because they are relatively new and online friends
are involved in less joint activities and less topics of discussion. The implications
of the findings are discussed.