Considering the impact of technological progress on social contacts, this study investigated the relationship between the practice of online games and friendship among 110 high school students from public and private schools. We elaborated and applied a questionnaire that addressed issues such as contact and communication, intimacy and closeness, satisfaction, social support and commitment. The results indicated that some characteristics of friendship relations in face-to-face situations show up in the relations between players in the online environment, that friendship in the context of online gaming seems to be organized around social support, and that the kind of support changes depending on the configuration of the environment in which the friendship develops.

Keywords : friendship; adolescence; interpersonal relationship; online games.