Abstracts from CT15 Conclusions Open surgeries performed on rabbits with the aid of night vision technology showed promising results. In future works, it is necessary to improve the resolution of microcameras and all participants in the operating room must use the same equipment. Future surgical procedures which could be performed on humans using this technique include non-complicated hernia repairs, large lipomas in soft tissues, subclavian catheter insertions and leg amputations. This technology could be improved with technology such as augmented reality and 3-D vision. Cybertherapy could thus be used during surgical applications to allow patients to be immersed in total darkness during surgery, making VR immersion more realistic. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– adolescents’ online activities and Their friends in the real life Vilmante Pakalniskienea Vilnius University, Lithuania
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Corresponding author: Vilmante Pakalniskiene Vilnius University Universiteto 9/1, Room 202 Vilnius, Lithuania 01513 E-mail: vilmante.pakalniskiene@fsf.vu.lt
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abstract The purpose of this study is to evaluate adolescents choice of best friend according to Keywords: Internet Use, Friendship, Similarity, Adolescents introduction Many adolescents spend time online chatting, playing games, discussing various issues, or doing other activities. There are many studies examining adolescents’ activities and also their behaviors online and comparing them to adolescents’ behaviors in real life. But there is a lack of knowledge if adolescents’ behaviors online could be somehow related to their best friends’ behaviors. From peer network literature it is known that sole adolescents choosing friends that are similar to themselves or that friends become similar over time – in turn, they
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217 influence each others behavior (Hamm, 2000; Hogue & Steinberg, 1995; Jaccard, Blanton, & Dodge, 2005; Kirke, 2004). There have been studies examining smoking and drinking habits, among various problem behaviors. However, there is a question of whether or not adolescents choose best friends in real life that are similar to themselves or not according to their behaviors online. Do adolescents choose people to become their friends who are spending as much time as themselves online and doing similar activities online? method participants Three-hundred Lithuanian adolescents, aged from 1217 years, participated in a four-year longitudinal study. Data used for the presentation are from the first wave of the longitudinal study. measures Demographic information; information about the best friend at school; evaluation of friendship quality; personality traits; self-esteem; activities online; time spend online; having friends online; participation in certain games, social networks, discussions online. analysis Social network analysis with SIENA software was used for all analysis and Visone software for visualization. SIENA software helps to analyze the choices of adolescents and characteristics of the network. Visone software helps to visualize the social network. results According to demographic characteristics younger adolescents tend to play more games online compared to older adolescents. Thus, activities affecting the best friend choice are different according to age and gender. Initial results of social network analysis suggest that younger adolescents tend to choose friends similar to them, according to their online activities and time spent online. While for older adolescents it is the other way around – they tend to choose friends who are not similar according to what they do online or how much time they spend online. In an additional analysis, the model including several youth characteristics, such as personality traits or problem behavior, would be included and tested to see if personality could have a stronger affect on adolescents online activities and friendship per se, or not. Prelimi-