Internet use and its relationship to loneliness

The association between Robert Weiss's bimodal theory of loneliness and Int ernet use was examined. The degree of social and emotional loneliness was a ssessed using the Social and Emotional Loneliness scale. This was compared with self-report measures of Internet use and the breadth of one's network of friends, both online and on a face-to-face basis. Low levels of social a nd emotional loneliness were both associated with high degrees of face-to-f ace networks of friends, while high levels of Internet use were associated with low levels of social loneliness and high levels of emotional lonelines s. This supports recent research that has found that the Internet can decre ase social well-being, even though it is often used as a communication tool .