Having a Social Life

With the rise of social networking sites, many people now spend time with their friends in online social spaces. These spaces are used to support and maintain existing friendships, as well as to form and develop new social connections. This chapter explores how people adapt to these online social interactions, how they bring social meaning to those conversations, and whether people can achieve ‘meaningful’ support in their relationships with others online. This chapter considers the role of interpersonal processes such as ‘self-disclosure’ in building intimacy with others online and what happens when we disclose too much. The chapter concludes by considering what drives people to socialise online and what makes us so committed to our online social interactions.