Quote (kissmykeister @ Jul 20 2016 12:21pm)
It could go for any interaction with people online, imo. Being someone who fell into a phase of not going out and truly being a loner / homebody as a teenager. Online was my escape or an outlet to communicate with others. From yahoo chat, to camfrog, to nothing because I started talking to the father of my daughter.. To back on camfrog, now I'm on league and randomly get on tinychat & camfrog since I don't go anywhere besides work. I definitely think it's an outlet used for people who didn't want to sit at home alone and not talk to anyone. Especially camfrog, I have witnessed people sleeping on cam. I'm guessing because either too drunk or just zoned out and fell asleep.. but maybe also because they don't enjoy sleeping alone. I used to fall asleep on Skype when I could with my ex. It made me feel closer to him when we were states anyway. Sorry for the paragraph. Might check out survey.
Yes, there are two theories:
1. People feel lonely in real life so they are engaged online and try to expand their network online
2. People spend too much time online, so they cannot spend time in maintaining their relationship offline. As a result, they become lonely offline
However, more and more people try to participate in online brand communities nowadays. Can the participation really help in reducing loneliness? People seems to make friends online, like play online games together, discussing TV dramas, sharing fashions...etc
Can these interaction help them?