The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology has increased in society, and CMC is useful in making interpersonal relationships. This study investigated the effect of social skills on loneliness, based on the social network mediation model and the cognitive bias model (Levin & Stokes, 1986). The social network mediation model suggests that social skills affect loneliness through mediation by social network variables of both face-to-face (FTF) communication and CMC. The cognitive bias model states that social skills directly affect loneliness through cognitive processes. Two-hundred eleven college students (study 1) and 164 participants recruited through the Internet (study 2) completed self-report measures of loneliness and social skills in addition to instruments assessing their social networks on FTF and CMC. The results were as follows : (a) the effect of social skills on loneliness was mediated by the social network variables of FTF ; (b) CMC variables were affected by social skills, but had only weak effects on loneliness ; c social skills directly affected loneliness. The lack of nonverbal cues in CMC was discussed as a possible explanation for the weak effects of social network variables of CMC on loneliness.
