Meeting online friends: personal relationships in the 21st century

Abstract

There is not yet an extensive body of academic research on how internet friendships move to the realm of face-to-face friendships. This research explores the experiences of people who have met their internet friends in person. It explores how online relationships make the transition to offline relationships, and what the experience of meeting a friend is like for individuals. A grounded theory approach to the phenomenon is used generate rich data from which new ideas concerning internet friendships arise. This thesis explores how individuals engage with a number of discourses surrounding the Internet and internet friendships.