Are internet friendships as real as offline friendships?

LadyEmeraude

LadyEmeraude

You may call me EM 😊
Perhaps an odd topic, but at a birthday lunch last week, the topic
came up between the group of us, and so some interesting chat
and opinions arose.
 

It sometimes happens that when you meet your internet friend you find that it is different than what your thought it would be. People sometimes portray themselves different with a screen to hide behind, it may not be intentional but it is there.

.You do not see the whole picture as you do in a real life personal friend.

Besides, you can't borrow a cup of sugar or twenty bucks from an online friend.
 

Lee said:
It sometimes happens that when you meet your internet friend you find that it is different than what your thought it would be. People sometimes portray themselves different with a screen to hide behind, it may not be intentional but it is there.

.You do not see the whole picture as you do in a real life personal friend.

Besides, you can't borrow a cup of sugar or twenty bucks from an online friend.
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I’ll mail you a cup of sugar and Venmo you $20 @Lee 😀
 
I think so.

I don't care about body language, looking into someone's eyes, etc. (unless we're dancing or something). These tell me very little. A person's words tell me more about who they really are.

Also, an online friendship tends to be more accessible and sustainable. A face-to-face friend might be too busy, ill, or far away to get together regularly.
 
I have friends from an old forum who I've known for over 20 years. We email and phone regularly. One is
in Manhattan, the other in Arkansas .. the 3 of us know one another. I'd say, we pretty well known one
another's characters after all these years.
 
I think I started going to chat rooms, I think after the kids moved out & hubby was working out of town.

Had some fun on them,exchanged greeting cards with several.

I think the last one was called Home Talk?

Hubby & I did meet some of the folks in Lancaster ,Pa for a dinner & play.
It seemed after that everyone went their own way.
Often wonder about the folks we met that weekend.
 
Doesn’t it depend how close you get to them?

If you have got to know them to the point of talking to them on the phone or zooming with them , that’s significantly more than just writing back and forth to a faceless person.

When I mentioned eye contact, body language and actually hearing somebody’s voice, I wasn’t claiming that it’s a necessity.
My main point being that it’s harder to read people behind a screen.

It clearly isn’t the case for everyone. We are all different.

Internet friends who you haven’t seen or heard and in person friends are different even if you don’t want to borrow money
 
Two different situations I personally can relate to ... where both do collide.

..... my Facebook account .... the people I know there, both online and in person, all seem the same in both worlds.

And also, locals that gather online to discuss sports, and fight loyally about everything! ... act just the same in person at the stadium on game day!😁
 
I have 2 online friends I exchange emails with pretty regularly. Neither of them lives in the US, so there's little chance we'll ever meet in person but we've sent each other credible evidence that we are who we say we are.

I've met women online, and I dated 4 of them. I got along so well with one of them, we actually lived together for a couple of years. She was awesome. But I had a really horrible experience with this one gal...the last one. We never met in person.
 
I like internet friendships.
Through different forums, I got to meet a few people in person either to gather around for an evening or organize a fund raising to help others.
I also like the international forums because it unites different personalities, different cultures, and sometimes even different languages. I follow one of those where people often share deep thoughts. It feels as you are sitting in the room with them, like you would with a friend.
So, I would say that I value both friendships.
 
Are they as real? Yes, for me they absolutely are. I've have Internet friendships that have lasted more than 20 years and many times those people have been much closer and more reliable than "real life" friends. They even often know me better than in-person friends. I know it's not like that for everyone, but it's been proven to me since around 1998. My "real-time" buddies are great, but sometimes online friends seem even closer.
 
CallMeKate said:
Are they as real? Yes, for me they absolutely are. I've have Internet friendships that have lasted more than 20 years and many times those people have been much closer and more reliable than "real life" friends. They even often know me better than in-person friends. I know it's not like that for everyone, but it's been proven to me since around 1998. My "real-time" buddies are great, but sometimes online friends seem even closer.
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I can see that.
 
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