All You Need Is Facebook Friends? Associations between Online and Face-to-Face Friendships and Health

Abstract

Positive social relations are known to have a beneficial impact on health, however, little is known about the links of health with online relationships. In this study, we compare face-to-face and virtual friendships in their association with health. By building on previous results of studies conducted on the well-being of college students, we expect to find stronger associations of face-to-face friendships with health than of those established through Facebook. Furthermore, we expect to test the mediating role of social capital variables in this process. Two large-scale studies conducted in community samples (Study 1 = 350 urban residents; Study 2 = 803 urban and rural residents) showed that the number and quality of face-to-face friendships were directly associated with self-reported health status, however, the same did not occur with Facebook friendships. Moreover, the association of face-to-face friendships with health was totally mediated by bonding (mostly) but also bridging social capital. These results, replicated in both studies, were found controlling for confounding variables such as age, gender, education, living alone, self-esteem, and socioeconomic status. This pattern of results emphasizes the gains of face-to-face over online friendships for individuals’ health status in community samples.

Less in-person social interaction with peers among U.S. adolescents in the 21st century and links to loneliness

“…Consistent with our cohort-level findings, two studies found declines in face-to-face social interaction in samples of non-U.S. adults (Patulny & Seaman, 2017; Vilhelmson, Elldér, & Thulin, 2018) collected anew each year. In contrast, when individuals were followed longitudinally or assessed cross-sectionally, social media use promoted the development of strong ties in core discussion networks (Vriens & van Ingen, 2018) and was linked to more face-to-face interaction (Hall, Kearney, & Xing, 2018; Lima et al, 2017). This distinction between the individual and group level of analysis may help resolve the debate in the literature over displacement versus complementarity of in-person social interaction and social media.…”

“…For example, individuals high in extraversion, a trait valuing interaction with others and sociability, also have more friends on social media sites (Liu & Campbell, 2017; Whaite, Shensa, Sidani, Colditz, & Primack, 2018). This “rich get richer” hypothesis proposes that some people engage in both more digital and more face-to-face communication (Liang & Fu, 2015; Lima, Marques, Muinos, & Camilo, 2017). Thus, cohort-level displacement of in-person social interaction by digital media on average may coexist with individual-level complementarity between digital media use and in-person social interaction.…”

Facebook-based social support and health: A systematic review.

“…Five studies (Jang et al, 2016;Lima et al, 2017;McCloskey et al, 2015;Wright, 2012;Zhang, 2017) were identified that focused on the effects of Facebook-based social support on aspects of general mental health. Overall, it was found that Facebook-based social support was predictive of better mental health, as well as decreased levels of mental distress (Jang et al, 2016;Lima et al, 2017;McCloskey et al, 2015;Wright, 2012;Zhang, 2017). Facebook-based social support was found to predict better mental health, however, social comparisons on Facebook were detrimental to mental health (Jang et al, 2016).…”

Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Happiness and the Rise of Media Consumption During COVID-19 Confinement

“…Thereby, Liu and Yu (2013) argued that although the use of Facebook certainly implies a perception of greater social support, this is weakly linked to well-being, because this relationship is mediated by general social support, received outside SNS. Lima et al (2017) highlighted the positive effects of online friendships compared to face-to-face relationships. Furthermore, Arampatzi et al (2018) established that online social contacts will never replace the role and prominence of real-life social contacts in the human pursuit of happiness.…”