Internet and social support: Online sociability and psychosocial adjustment in the information society

Abstract

Social support from intimate and confidant relationships has been traditionally linked to a better psychological well-being. With the arrival of Internet, however, other forms of social relationship demand our attention. In the present article, we pay attention to online social relationshisps as potential sources of social support, specifically for those potentially impaired in the face-to-face interaction and, thus, at risk of social exclusion. In this sense, recent research suggests that online social relationships could be parallel online social relationships in terms of the benefits derived from social support (whether online or offline).