網路科技的發展及普及，網路的應用更加多樣化，使用的對象也更多元化。現在可利用網路科技接觸到世界各地，延伸每一個人眼界，開拓人際關係，另外網路有匿名性、隱藏性的特點，難以分辨網路使用者的特徵。尤其在網路虛擬中，剛開始認識大多藉由文字溝通為開端，有曾經想過，跟妳/你交談的網友，可能是聽障者嗎？基本在網路世界上，誰會去在乎，網友真實身分，畢竟似真似假，除非是連結到真實生活的交友圈。 本研究藉由網路匿名性特點，在沒有聽障者的社會標籤情形下，探討網際網路使用對聽障者的人際網絡的影響。研究發現到聽障者人際關係跟網際科技之間，是有火花產生的。有主要三點發現，第一點，聽障者藉由視訊、MSN強化其強連結；第二點，聽障者的年紀、個性、使用電腦程度影響到其強連結，如年紀輕、個性開放、使用網際網路時間較多，弱連結拓展佳；第三點，儘管網際網路無國界，網際網路社群，還是以內部社群為主，聽障者的網際網路社交圈以熟悉朋友為主。 Internet technology today has become highly developed and extremely widespread. Its applications have become increasingly diverse, targeted at consumers from all walks of life. Internet technology helps people keep in contact with acquaintances all around the world, expands individual perspectives, and helps establish interpersonal relationships. In addition, the Internet offers the benefits of anonymity and confidentiality, casting a veil over the identity of users. Cyber relationships generally begin with textual communication. Has it ever occurred to you that the person you are chatting with online may be hard of hearing? The true identity of cyber friends may not be an issue for active Internet users, unless this social circle extends to real life. This study employed the anonymity of the Internet to eliminate social cue issues faced by the hard-of-hearing and investigated the influence of the Internet on their interpersonal networks. It was discovered that friction occurs between the interpersonal relationships of deaf people and Internet technology. By dividing the deaf subjects into computers users and non-computer users, the weak and strong links of their interpersonal networks were further revealed.In addition, the differences and similarities between face-to-face communication (FTF) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) were explored. Using FTF and CMC, deaf people are able to develop a greater number of relationships.
