Volume 10, No 1, 2013
Adult Friendships in the Facebook Era
Kirsty Young
Abstract
Online friends are accumulated by sending virtual requests though online social networking sites. Once accepted friends have access to each other's online life, which includes some level of access to each other's entire online social network. The study presented in this paper sought to understand the connection between these online friends and offline relationships. Phase 1 data was collected using an online survey (N= 752). Analysis of survey data informed the design of Phase 2, where face-toface sessions which incorporated semi-structured interviews and verbal protocols were conducted with 18 active Facebook users. Phase 2 participants were aged between 21-57 and provided broad insights into adult Facebook users' friendship experiences. Facebook users were overwhelmingly positive about their online activity but did highlight new friendship issues (such as 'de-friending') which have arisen as a direct result of accumulating and maintaining friends online.
Pages: 1-17
Keywords: Online social networking; Facebook; Friendship; Online/offline relationships