The closer the relationship, the more the interaction on Facebook? Investigating the case of Taiwan users/ Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

Abstract

This study argues for the necessity of applying offline contexts to social networking site research and the importance of distinguishing the relationship types of users` counterparts when studying Facebook users` behaviors. In an attempt to examine the relationship among users` behaviors, their counterparts` relationship types, and the users` perceived acquaintanceships after using Facebook, this study first investigated users` frequently used tools when interacting with different types of friends. Users tended to use less time- and effort-consuming and less privacy-concerned tools with newly acquired friends. This study further examined users` behaviors in terms of their closeness and intimacy and their perceived acquaintanceships toward four different types of friends. The study found that users gained more perceived acquaintanceships from less close friends with whom users have more frequent interaction but less intimate behaviors. As for closer friends, users tended to use more intimate activities to interact with them. However, these activities did not necessarily occur more frequently than the activities they employed with their less close friends. It was found that perceived acquaintanceships with closer friends were significantly lower than those with less close friends. This implies that Facebook is a mechanism for new friends, rather than close friends, to become more acquainted.