Writing in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Shirley S. Wang reports:
Several recent studies have found that digital communications can lead to more or better friendships, online and off, greater honesty, faster intimacy in relationships and an increased sense of belonging, in addition to practical social benefits like an expanded circle for networking.
She continued:
… researchers found users expressed a significant amount of empathy online, and that the more time college students spent on Facebook, the more empathy they expressed online and in real life.