Online friendships can be a great addition to real-life friendships, but they can’t completely take their place.
A study by Pew Research in 2021 found that 84% of teens make friends online.
However, 78% of teens believe that hanging out in person is really important for friendships.
Interestingly, data from the American Psychological Association shows that over 60% of teens feel lonelier even though they are connected online more than ever.
While online friendships can help us talk and feel supported, they often don’t have the same depth or closeness as friendships we experience face-to-face.
This lack of closeness can lead to a drop in how good we feel about our online friendships, with an average decrease of 5% in relationship quality for friendships that are only online.
Online friendships can be a great addition to real-life friendships, but they can’t completely take their place.
A study by Pew Research in 2021 found that 84% of teens make friends online.
However, 78% of teens believe that hanging out in person is really important for friendships.
Interestingly, data from the American Psychological Association shows that over 60% of teens feel lonelier even though they are connected online more than ever.
While online friendships can help us talk and feel supported, they often don’t have the same depth or closeness as friendships we experience face-to-face.
This lack of closeness can lead to a drop in how good we feel about our online friendships, with an average decrease of 5% in relationship quality for friendships that are only online.