a larger proportion of their friends and relationship" (p. 229). This exploration not only allows further understanding of how the Internet is affecting interpersonal relationships, but it also expands work on relational maintenance, which has focused almost exclusively on face-to-face interaction (Dainton & Aylor, 2002).
             Cummings & Kraut (2002) claim that the most useful way to develop and maintain close social relationships is face-to-face contact and telephone conversations. While online communication is considered inferior to face-to-face communication, online communication can serve as an additional communication mode, rather than a trade-off for face-to-face communication. Especially in certain situations such as distant relationships, online interaction can be an alternative to face-to-face interaction (Lee, 2009). Lee (2009) found that those who used the Internet had larger increases in face-to-face interaction with friends and family, in the size of their local social circles, and in the size of their distant s
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