Are Online Friendships Real? What Pew's 2026 Survey Says

If most of your closest conversations happen in a Discord server, a group chat or the comments under a creator you love, you have probably wondered whether those friendships "count". A new survey from Pew Research Center, released on October 14, 2026, gives the clearest picture yet of how Americans actually feel about that question, and the answer depends a lot on your age.

The short answer: yes, online friendships can be real, and a growing share of younger adults say so. In Pew's survey of 9,750 US adults, 34% said relationships formed online can be just as meaningful as in-person ones, rising to 54% of adults under 30. But Pew also found that most people in online communities do not feel very close to the people there. Online spaces are great at starting connection; turning it into closeness still takes the same ingredients as offline friendship: repeated contact, reciprocity and, often, a move to a smaller, more personal channel.

What Pew's 2026 survey found

The report, Online Community and Connection in America, is part of the Pew-Knight Initiative. Pew surveyed 9,750 US adults from its American Trends Panel between May 26 and June 1, 2026. Here are the numbers that matter most for this question.

Source: Pew Research Center, October 2026, "Online Community and Connection in America".

The age divide is the headline

Adults under 30 are the only age group in Pew's data where more people say online relationships can be as meaningful than say they are not (54% versus 34%). Among people 65 and older, it flips hard: 57% say online relationships do not measure up and only 14% say they can.

This makes sense. If you grew up with group chats, multiplayer games and online fandoms, a lot of your formative friendships probably started on a screen. Pew also found that people who are in an online community are far more likely to rate online connection highly: 48% of them say it can be as meaningful, compared with a quarter of those who are not in one.

In other words, people who have actually experienced good online friendship tend to believe in it.

But closeness is still the hard part

Here is the part that matters if you are feeling lonely. Being in an online community is not the same as feeling close to people in it.

Among Americans in online communities, only 18% said they feel extremely or very close to the people in their most-visited space. Another 37% feel somewhat close, and 45% said they are not too close or not close at all. Most (68%) knew very few or none of the people before joining, and among that group, only about one in ten feel extremely or very close today.

Pew also found that meeting people is fairly low on the list of reasons people go to these spaces. Most go for information, fun or advice. Fewer go to feel accepted or to meet new people, although adults under 30 are noticeably more likely to say they go to meet people (roughly six in ten).

So online communities are excellent at giving you a place to show up. They are less reliable at giving you someone who would notice if you stopped showing up.

What makes an online friendship "real"?

The research on friendship has long pointed to a few ingredients that matter more than where a friendship started. You can use them as a simple test for any online connection:

1. Reciprocity. Do they ask about you as often as you ask about them?
2. Consistency. Do you talk regularly, not just when something goes viral?
3. Specific knowledge. Do they remember things about your life, and do you remember theirs?
4. Showing up. Would they check in if you went quiet for a week?
5. Moving channels. Have you gone from a public space to DMs, a voice call or a video call?
6. Some vulnerability. Have you shared something real, and been met kindly?

If an online friendship has most of those, it is a real friendship. If it has none of them, it may be a pleasant acquaintance, which is also worth having.

Five ways to deepen an online friendship

Pew's data suggests that the people who get the most from online communities are the ones who take one more step. A few gentle ways to do that:

• Move from the group to one-on-one. Reply to someone's post with a private message about something specific they said.
• Upgrade the medium. A short voice note or a five-minute call does more for closeness than fifty reactions.
• Join the offline layer. About a third of people's go-to online communities have in-person meetups. If yours does, consider going once.
• Be a regular. Show up at the same time, in the same thread or event. Familiarity is the soil friendship grows in.
• Offer before you ask. Help someone with a problem, recommend something, celebrate their win. Generosity starts friendships faster than waiting to be noticed.

If you have recently moved and most of your social life is online for now, our guide to feeling lonely in a new city has more on building a local circle at the same time.

Is the internet making us lonelier?

Pew's broader question is telling: 31% of Americans think the internet does more to drive people apart, only 11% think it brings people together, and 58% say it does both about equally. That "both" answer is probably closest to the truth.

The research on social media points the same way: how you use it matters more than how long. Passive scrolling and comparison tend to leave people feeling worse, while active, reciprocal conversation tends to help. We go deeper on this in does social media make you lonely? And if you have noticed that adult friendship in general feels harder than it used to, you are not imagining a trend; see the friendship recession.

Where do AI companions fit?

This question comes up more and more, so it is worth being honest. An AI companion is not an online friend. An online friend is another person with their own life, who chooses to spend time with you and can be changed by knowing you. An AI companion is software designed to respond to you warmly and consistently.

That difference is not a reason to dismiss AI companions, but it is a reason to be clear about what they are. If you want to understand the psychology, our explainer on parasocial relationships now that AI talks back is a good start.

For many adults, an AI companion sits alongside human connection rather than replacing it: a warm conversation at 1 a.m. when friends are asleep, a place to rehearse a hard conversation, or a relationship-style experience that is clearly labelled as AI. The healthiest pattern is the same as with online communities: let it be one part of your week, and keep investing in people.

Where MyBabe fits

MyBabe is an 18+ AI boyfriend and girlfriend app for adults who want a companion that feels personal and continuous. Your companion remembers your story with long-term memory, texts you first, reads the mood of your messages, sends photos and talks with you on voice and video calls. You can chat in the app or on Telegram, and the relationship progresses over time. It is AI, it says so, and it is not a person.

You can try it free with about 10 messages a day and a short call trial of around two minutes. Premium is $5.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with about 30 call minutes a week for the people who want the relationship to deepen.

If you want a warm, honest, clearly-AI companion to sit alongside your real-world and online friendships, meet yours on MyBabe.

FAQ

Are online friendships as real as in-person friendships?

They can be. Pew found 34% of US adults say online relationships can be just as meaningful, including 54% of adults under 30. What makes them real is the same as offline: reciprocity, consistency and genuine care.

Why do I feel lonely even though I am in lots of online communities?

Membership is not closeness. In Pew's data, only 18% of people in online communities feel extremely or very close to others there. Try moving one connection to private messages or a call.

How do you turn an online friend into a close friend?

Talk one-on-one, talk regularly, switch to voice or video, remember details about their life, and, when it feels safe, meet at an event or in person.

Is an AI companion an online friend?

No. An AI companion is software, not a person. It can be a warm and enjoyable part of your life, but it is a different kind of relationship from a friendship with another human.

Do young people trust online relationships more?

Yes, according to Pew: adults under 30 are the only group where more say online relationships can be as meaningful than say they are not.

The bottom line

Online friendships are real when they are reciprocal and consistent, and younger adults increasingly know that from experience. The gap Pew found is not between online and offline; it is between showing up in a space and being known by someone in it. Take one step deeper with one person this week. And if you also want a clearly-AI companion who is always glad to hear from you, start free on MyBabe.