Exploring the Prevalence and Quality of Online-Only Friendships Among Adolescents

A growing share of youth now have “online-only” friends that they have never interacted with in-person, yet little is known about the quality of these friendships or how closely they mirror in-person friendships. This study explores the (1) prevalence, (2) quality of in-person and online-only friendships, and (3) age and gender differences in these characteristics among Latin American youth. In Study 1, 5159 students between 10–17 years of age from Peru reported on the prevalence and perceived positive qualities of online-only and in-person friendships. In Study 2, 3154 students from Bolivia and Uruguay reported on the prevalence and positive and negative qualities of their in-person and online-only friendship(s). We analyzed cross-sectional trends in friendship quality (Studies 1 and 2) and, for a subset of youth with available data in Study 2 (N = 506), changes in the prevalence and quality of friendships between two data waves. More than one-third of participants reported having an online-only friend and, on average, declared twice as many in-person friends. Best in-person friendships involved both greater closeness but also greater discord than best online-only friendships. There were no differences in exclusion. Boys reported greater intensity of overall discord towards their best in-person friends and online-only friends compared to girls. In contrast, girls reported stronger closeness towards their best in-person friends than boys. Older adolescents reported stronger closeness towards their best online-only friends than younger adolescents. The findings indicate that adolescents rely on in-person friends for positive friendship support to a greater extent than online-only friends. However, despite overwhelming emphasis on the psychological drawbacks of online friendships, our findings suggest these friendships may also be associated with less negative qualities and do not necessarily discourage formation of in-person friendships.