Abstract:
There are three aims in studying the process of on-line group formation: A case of cyber friendship. The first one is to study the online relationship which fulfills ones desire to have love and care from friends. The second purpose of the studying, is to compare the friendship between a group of online friends and a group of friends from school. The third aim is to study the role of online friends in replacing actual friends in modern society. The content of an online conversation is analyzed in order to study a form of behavior and compare friendship which friendship which takes place between online friends and school friends. The research shows that these are both similarities and difference in a form of behavior between a group of online friends. The context of communication through a computer network gives a group of online friends a freedom to unlimited express themselves by words and other signs. Futhermore, The research finds that first the online relationship can respond to love and bonding from friends, second the similarities in friendship between online friends and school friends are namely the reason in joining the group, value and new attitude, type of group of friends ,remarkable character of oneself, an attraction, to give courage/to be counselor/to help ridding of the loneliness to one another. And the differences are an aim of the group, a group of activities, having secret to one another, the feeling of bonding, the adjustment, the selection of friends, the acceptance of one another, the maintenance of friendship, the expectation for benefits and problems which occur; third, online friends can replace friends in modern society, however, this concept can be applied to only people who think that online conversation is a tool to create friendship with anyone without any conditions while the real society there is no differences in friendship between online friends whom one actually meet when one gets to talk, understand, meet and agree to be friend with another .On the other hand, There is other viewpoint of people who think that online friends cannot replace actual friends in modern society, because it is rare and difficult to find sincerity and truth in the cyber world. What one creates in the cyber world, such as friendship, will be only for the cyber world. In reality, one need to have actual friends in a real society. Cyber friends cannot replace actual friends because there are no activities done together. One cannot get to know each other well .There is no close relationship. Thus, cyber world may be only for deluding the others.