title: Close online relationships in a national sample of adolescents.
abstract: This paper uses data from a national survey of adolescent Internet users (N = 1,501) to describe online relationships. Fourteen percent of the youths interviewed reported close online friendships during the past year, 7% reported face-to-face meetings with online friends, and 2% reported online romances. Two hundred forty-six youths provided details about one close online relationship. Most of these relationships were with same-age peers (70%) and crossed gender lines (71%). Many intersected with face-to-face social networks because they were initiated by introductions from friends or family (32%), involved people who lived in the vicinity (26%), were known to parents (74%), included offline contact by mail or telephone (70%), or involved face-to-face meetings (41%). Few youths reported bad experiences with online friends.
authors.affiliation: Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham 03824, USA. janis.wolak@unh.edu
authors.forename: Janis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolak
authors.forename: Kimberly J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Finkelhor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires