There were apparently no controls for history and maturation effects, nor for the growth and changes of the Internet during that time as well. I'm not sure we know. The tables are not as clear as I would have liked in this draft and I hope more data is presented in the final paper. Lack of data, and just having the statistical significances in front of us, is somewhat frustrating. The path analyses are helpful.
Family income seems to be a factor significant to increased loneliness.
Being a teenager is a factor significant to decreased family communication. Being depressed is related to race and stress. I'm glad they controlled for as much as they did, given what they found. I neither talk nor visit once a year many of my online friends, yet they have steadily grown since I've been online. It is not clear whether subjects added their new social relationships online to that group.