Meeting Up: Finding Friends in the Internet Age

• In Event: 239 - Section on Communication and Information Technologies Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. Friendly Fire: Social Networking on Facebook

Abstract

Sociologists have traditionally studied friendships made in offline settings. Why, then, do people turn to the Internet to find face-to-face friendships? The existing literature has little to say on this topic. This paper examines Meetup.com, a website that allows people to search for, join, and create groups around common interests or identities. Using qualitative methodology, I offer a theoretical explanation for why people turn to the Internet for face-to-face interactions. I argue that Meetup users are situated at an intersection of three social forces: life course events that diminish their local social network; limited access to traditional social contexts like school, work, and other organizations; and a need to belong to a social circle that enables both a sense of individuality and participation in public life. This paper offers new insights into how the Internet facilitates social life in the 21st century.

Author

• Robyn Alexandra Keith, University of Texas-Austin