Are young people alone together: Experiences on the internet and attachment to offline and online friends?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out how young people perceive the quality of relationships with offline and online friends operationalized through anxiety and avoidance, and what the predictors of attachment to online friends are. Participants were 303 young people (78% girls), roughly equally divided between high school and university students (51% vs. 49%) aged 15 to 30 (Mage = 19.5, SD = 3.50). An online survey was conducted with a convenient sample. Two scales were used in the research: Experiences in Close Relationships and Excessive Internet Use, as well as questions about experiences on the Internet. The results show that youth are more likely to build and maintain close friendships through live interaction, despite their frequent use of social technologies. A quarter of respondents do not have a single friend with whom they mainly socialize online, while half have at most two online friends. Online friendships are more common among high school students. Most young people do not feel anxious in their relationships with offline and online friends; avoidance is significantly stronger in their relationships with online friends. The strongest predictors of attachment to online friends are attachment to offline friends and feeling personally safe online. When interpreting the obtained findings, one should bear in mind the limitations arising from the characteristics of the sample (it is not representative and gender-balanced).