The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence and quality of on-line
friendships, to find which individual characteristics differentiate people who look for
and form on-line friendship(s) from those who don't, and to discover factors which are
of importance for the development of on-line friendship(s). 574 Internet users
completed an on-line questionnaire.
The results showed that: (1) almost 50% of respondents had on-line friendship(s); (2)
off-line friendships were better developed than on-line friendships. However, there
was only a minor difference between the quality of the best off-line and best on-line
friendships; (3) the Internet was a safe place for building personal relationships,
especially for shy individuals; (4) people who felt lonely were more likely to turn to
the Internet to find friends; (5) Internet usage and attitudes to the Internet were
significant factors that differentiated those who looked for and formed friendship(s)
on-line from those who didn't. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/752 |
| Date | 28 February 2004 |
| Creators | Zaczek, Dominika |
| Contributors | Bonn, M. (Dr.), Czapinski, J. (Prof.) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (231 leaves) |
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