The study, reported by The Guardian newspaper, also states that people tend to be "more open, trusting and sincere" with their virtual friends than with real ones. In this sense, the association's study puts on the table the advantages of this type of network to improve communication and social life of people with a disease whose movement is limited.
As explained by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust Adult Center psychological advisor, Helen Oxley, in society at large, the ways in which friendships are formed and nurtured "are changing people," which recognizes that relationships can develop "deep and meaningful" between people they have never met, and may never meet.
The results highlight how the interaction between people in society is also changing. Only five percent would ask for someone's phone number and 23 percent are more likely to ask for an email address or full name with the intention of looking up and adding you on a social network .
