Those are the findings of a new Pew Research Center study that also highlights a new type of "digital divide" - the nearly 20 percent of Americans who are not Internet users and missing out on those same social networking benefits.
"If people on Facebook are getting all these great rewards, then there's a group of people out there who are really bad off," said Keith Hampton, the report's lead author and an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication.
"They have the smallest social network, fewer close ties, are way less likely to vote and are less involved with neighbors," he said in an interview.
The Pew Internet & American Life study followed up on a Pew-Annenberg study released in November 2009 that sought to challenge a report published in 2006 that found Americans had become more socially isolated during the past two decades.
The first Pew-Annenberg study concluded the opposite was true because those who use the Internet, social networks, mobile phones and photo sharing sites were more likely to have a larger, more diverse set of close confidants.
The latest study, based on interviews with 2,255 adults Americans conducted between Oct. 20 and Nov. 28, 2010, delved into more details about the impact of social networking use, which nearly doubled from 2008 to 2010.
Of the adults who used the Internet, 59 percent said they used at least one social network, compared with just 34 percent in the previous study. Moreover, by 2010, 48 percent of social network users were aged 35 or older, compared with the previous 18 percent.
Facebook was by far the leader, with 92 percent of social networking users, compared to 29 percent for MySpace, 18 percent for LinkedIn and 13 percent for Twitter.
The researchers said the study yielded five interesting highlights. Facebook users who were on the site multiple times per day:
-- Were 43 percent more likely to believe most people could be trusted. And of all social network users, 45 percent agreed with the statement that "most people could be trusted."
-- Had more close relationships, with 9 percent more friends in their network who were considered confidants compared with other Internet users.
-- Were 2.5 times more likely to attend a political rally or meeting, 57 percent more likely to persuade someone to vote, and 43 percent more likely to say they would vote.
-- Received more social support, "equivalent to about half the total support that the average American receives as a result of being married or cohabitating with a partner."
-- Retained high school friendships and revived dormant relationships. The average Facebook user had 229 friends - 22 percent from high school, 12 percent extended family, 10 percent co-workers, 9 percent college friends, 8 percent immediate family, 7 percent members of voluntary groups and 2 percent neighbors. The remainder includes people who don't fit into those categories, such as friends of friends or others who the member has never met in person.
Hampton said the political engagement probably stems from the fact that Facebook members tend to become more aware of issues from those in their network who are politically active. And the "social sharing machine" increases the visibility of issues, he said.
"It speeds up that collective action model," Hampton said. "It gives you permission to try to do the same thing."
And the "pervasive awareness of everyone around you" could also explain why people are receiving more emotional support, he said.
For example, when a Facebook member posts that he or she is feeling ill or depressed, people in their network can easily post "get well" wishes on their walls.
Also, Hampton said, "trust is related to seeing people around you doing things that you also share."
Support, trust and building relationships were also fed by the ubiquitous one-click "Like" button, which "turns out to be the No. 1 activity on Facebook," Hampton said.
On an average day, 26 percent of Facebook users said they hit "Like" on a friend's content, 22 percent commented on a post or status update, and 15 percent updated their own status. Only 10 percent said they sent a private Facebook message every day.
The study, though, showed that those who used social networking were getting benefits that non-Internet users were not, he said.
The average Internet user had 669 social connections, more than the average 506 for non-Internet users. And only 27 percent of non-Internet users believed that most people could be trusted.
In addition, the percentage of Americans who said they had no one whom they could discuss important matters with dropped from 12 percent in 2008 to 9 percent in 2010, during a period when social networking use nearly doubled.
That is an indication that those who are not using the Internet "are much more likely to be socially isolated," Hampton said. Read More
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