"Online social networking increases social connectedness"

Australian press release: - 

" - Australian Psychological Society (APS) researcher Dr Rebecca Mathews said that despite earlier studies suggesting online social networking reduced social skills and increased people’s sense of isolation, the APS found the social networking phenomenon had the opposite effect.
Our respondents said rather than replacing their ‘offline’ gatherings, Facebook actually increased the amount of time they spent socialising with friends and family,” she said.
“These findings are significant because we know strong social connections enhance people’s self-esteem and mental health while providing support and a sense of belonging,” Dr Mathews said.
The survey of 1834 respondents also found more than half of 18 to 30 year olds felt they would lose contact with many of their friends if they stopped using social networking sites - "


http://www.psychology.org.au/news/media_releases/15nov2010/