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The researchers focused on Facebook and MySpace, two of the most popular sites where millions of people express themselves online with personal photographs, musings and other content while adding “friends” to their network.

In their study, Will Reader, an evolutionary psychologist at Sheffield Hallam University and his colleagues, asked people a series of questions about their attitudes toward friendships and found 90 percent of individuals said it was imperative to know somebody face-to-face to form the tightest bonds.

The key it seems is face-to-face interaction where people can interpret social clues such as laughs and smiles that help determine if others are friends to be counted on, Reader said.

“That weird experience of laughing together where people can find they have similar goals and experiences is necessary,” Reader said.