The IoT Revolution: Redefining Online Relationships and Social Network Expansion

Although the Internet of Things (IoT) has been acknowledged to significantly affect the nature of human interaction, the associations between IoT technologies and aspects of social bonds between humans are still underexplored. This study examined the extent to which the IoT shapes online social interactions in the Vietnamese context. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 384 Vietnamese participants. Data were projected onto structural equation modelling to test the hypothesised relationships between perceived social presence (PS), media richness of IoT, quality of online relationships, and online social network expansion. The results show positive correlations between IoT richness, quality of human relationships and social media use. PS was significantly related to online social network expansion, but it could not predict the quality of bonds between social media users. The findings suggest that the IoT is designed and developed to enable meaningful social connections, expanding human knowledge of how IoT influences online social interactions.