ABSTRACT
The advent of information technology (IT), especially the Internet, has changed almost all aspects of human life. Sociologically, Wellman (2001) argued that the Internet has transformed group-based society into a network-based society. This transformation has been made possible since the Internet has overcome spatial and temporal barriers. The Internet is also believed to have improved social ties in society (DiMaggio et al., 2001). The Internet also facilitates social capital development through more efficient information flows among communities (Wellman, 2001; Lin, 2001) and enables social network formation. Social networks that demand for physical meetings have nowadays been propagated by the help of the Internet, which facilitates online social networks (Garton et al., 1997).
