Friendship Preferences and Friendship Quality among Indian School Students: A Comparison of Online and Offline Friendships

Vasudha Rao; Chethana R Acharya

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87421

Friendship Preferences and Friendship Quality among Indian School Students: A Comparison of Online and Offline Friendships

Author(s)	Ms. Vasudha Rao, Ms. Chethana R Acharya
Country	India
Abstract	Friendships form an important part of the development of any individual, especially young children and adolescents. With the advent of new technology, friendship among children and adolescents is no longer limited to people they meet in daily life; it also includes people they meet online through social media, gaming websites, text messages, or voice and video calls. The present study examined the friendship preferences of students in Grades 6-12 and whether friendship preferences changed between early and late adolescents in Grades 6-8 and Grades 9-12. The study also examined perceived friendship quality and compared the two friendship preferences on the dimensions of Companionship, Help, and Emotional Closeness/Intimacy. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was adopted, which selected and adapted items from the Friendship Qualities Scale (FQS) and the Friendship Quality on Social Network Sites Questionnaire (FQSNS). Data were collected from 227 students across Grades 6-12. Participants were grouped based on friendship preferences for offline or online based on which friendship they found to be more meaningful. Chi-square tests were used to examine overall friendship preference and its association with grade group, while Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare friendship-quality dimensions between the two preference groups. The findings showed that 166 students (73.1%) preferred offline friendship, whereas 61 (26.9%) preferred online friendship, with the difference being statistically significant, χ²(1) = 48.57, p < .001. No significant difference was found in Companionship between the two preference groups, U = 4781.50, p = .518. Significant differences were found in Help, U = 1883.00, p < .001, and Emotional Closeness/Intimacy, U = 2587.50, p < .001, with higher scores reported by the offline-preference group. Friendship preference also did not differ significantly between Grades 6–8 and Grades 9–12, χ²(1) = 0.61, p = .436. The findings indicate that friendship preference and perceived friendship quality may vary across specific dimensions, highlighting the importance of considering both online and offline contexts when understanding adolescent friendships.
Keywords	Adolescent Friendships, Online Friendship, Offline Friendship, Friendship Preference, Friendship Quality, Companionship, Help, Emotional Closeness, School Students
Field	Sociology > Philosophy / Psychology / Religion
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-09
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87421

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Friendship Preferences and Friendship Quality among Indian School Students: A Comparison of Online and Offline Friendships

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