Attachments or Affiliations? The Impact of Social Media on the Quality of Peer Relationships—A Qualitative Study Among Norwegian High School Students

Social media (SoMe) is an important part of how young people socialize and communicate with each other and there are concerns that this may negatively impact peer relationships. The aim of this article was to explore how high school students experience the impact of SoMe on their peer relationships and the quality of these relationships. We performed qualitative semi-structured interviews with 12 Norwegian high-school students. Results showed that SoMe changed the quality of peer relationships as well as online and offline communication. The impact of SoMe on peer relationships depended on whether the students had both online and offline peer relations. Unlike offline relationships, where the youth experienced real friendships, online relationships were primarily described as contacts. The results suggest that online peer relationships often resemble affiliations rather than attachments. This may negatively impact social competence, especially among students whose peer relationships are mainly online-based.