Quality of Online Social Relationships

I think that this study was a good attempt to examine the quality of online social relationships compared to face-to-face relationships. I am not surprised with the result that face-to-face relationships were considered stronger than those mostly based on online interaction. Online communication, to me, always feels a bit detached and less direct.  It's harder to connect because you can't always see what the other person's personality is like, what they're tone sounds like, or what they're expressions are like. There is usually less emotion in the online communication, and in my opinion, less of an obligation to keep up with the relationship.  

I also think it was interesting to think about whether all this online communication hurt or helped existing face-to-face relationships. The study discussed how the effect of online social communication would differ depending on how often you see the friend face-to-face.  I see how online communication can strengthen a good friendship if you are able to to meet with the other person at least occasionally. I do think that relying too much on online communication, especially if you shy away from face-to-face interaction, can have a detrimental effect on one’s social relationships. If you have trouble interacting in-person, then you’re probably more likely to go to online communities, although the online relationships probably won’t seem as “high in quality” as if you were truly interacting face-to-face. But times are changing, and with the popularity of online dating these days, more and more online relationships have developed into "real-life" ones!