Members of the community are active in the "real"

Virtual communities are growing stronger in their influence on people. Already a third of Americans find that online connections are just as real. These results came from the sociologists of the Digital Future Center (USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future), which for more than 10 years has been studying aspects of the behavior of Internet users.

43% of respondents who called themselves members of the online community say they feel as confident in them as in offline communities. Every third person so enthusiastically builds relationships on the Web that he is ready to equate them in meaning to real business contacts.
At the same time, all the people in this group are active Internet users: 56.6% of their number access the Internet at least once a day.

It is characteristic that Americans who are active online, do not miss the chance to chat live. According to the Center, 20% of members of the community at least once a year make attempts to meet with their online interlocutors in the "real". The study found that the Internet stimulates social activity.
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About 2,000 US households participated in the annual Digital Future Center project.