FtF and Mobile email Personal Networks and Loneliness : Focusing on the Interaction Effects of Sociability and Personal Networks

Abstract

This research has two purposes. The first purpose is to investigate the relationships between loneliness and the sizes of the personal networks in face-to-face (FtF) communication and in communication via mobile email (including email and short message services). The second purpose is to examine interaction effects on loneliness that exist between sociability and the size of FtF and mobile email personal networks. This paper discusses these points, based on the Japanese social survey by Hashimoto and his co-researchers in 2003. As seen in the results of regression analysis, the relationship between the size of mobile email personal networks and loneliness was weaker than between the size of FtF personal networks and loneliness. However, for the higher sociability group, there was a significant relationship between the size of FtF personal networks and loneliness, but not for the lower sociability group. On the other hand, for the lower sociability group, the size of mobile email personal networks showed a significant relationship to loneliness, but not for the higher sociability group. These findings indicate the interaction effects of sociability and personal networks on loneliness.