I value them both equally! Though I have a hard time with irl interactions and just being more involved in my friends' lives. I just think my online friends are more relatable because we have more of the same interests and hobbies! (tbh lately I find them better than my irl friends bc at least I don't feel left out as much lol)
The Value of Internet Friendships and “In Real Life” Friendships
- Thread starter Croconaw
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thatonemayor
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Funny story. My father is actually getting his doctorate in communication right now, and he made a statement recently that stuck with me.
"Your generation is different than ours. For your generation, your online life is just an extension of your day to day normal life. There's no seperation there anymore."
It's interesting because I really feel that way. I have a couple of online friends who when I hear from them, I feel just as excited as if one of my best friends in real life called me. It's nuts.
"Your generation is different than ours. For your generation, your online life is just an extension of your day to day normal life. There's no seperation there anymore."
It's interesting because I really feel that way. I have a couple of online friends who when I hear from them, I feel just as excited as if one of my best friends in real life called me. It's nuts.
That’s really an interesting way to look at things! I can relate. I feel just as excited if I hear from an online friend. I sometimes get more excited if it is an online friend. Not to take anything away from in-real-life friends, but I just have more online friends. I value all of my friendships equally.
MozzarellaSticks
(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ ANN PERKI
It?s really cool when you?re old enough for your internet friends to become irl friends, too.
Stackhouse
That train has sailed.
I've made some decent friends online that are now RL friends, after meeting up.
I think of them equally! I have several online friends who I trust enough to come with problems (and vice versa) that I just don't feel quite as comfortable discussing things with some of my offline friends, but I also have a small circle of friends in person that I love spending time with. My best friend is technically an online friendship, but I don't know what I'd do without her. It's very hard to find people in person that are interested in similar things as I am, who dress and act the way I do, and who have the same sense of humor as I do, so I appreciate knowing and talking to her.
Well, for me it's easier to find like-minded people online that doesn't get "tired" of me after like two times meeting up or such. And since most of my friends are from this site I definitely think it's more safe than some other places. While I don't think I'd meet up with them irl/talk on the phone with em etc. I definitely value them as much as IRL friends.
I have some coworkers I'm close with but we basically only see each other there as of now and it's not like people ask for your number or chat apps these days lol.
I have some coworkers I'm close with but we basically only see each other there as of now and it's not like people ask for your number or chat apps these days lol.
This is me 100%. I spent a lot of time talking to my online friends in my teens because I used to be on this large forum and on this fansite community. I had real life friends too but definitely more internet ones.
It was nice to socialize but nothing beat hanging out with people in person. Everyone on the forum lived real far away from me so it wasn't like we could hangout in person. Too expensive and we were too young.
I've been reaching out to my real life friends to hangout and meet other people through friends of friends. There's nothing wrong with online friends but I think everyone needs a real life friend to hang with in person. To me, it just feels much better than living your life through a screen.
Antonio
✦ Any Pronouns ✦
Same, I agree with this.
There's really not much of a difference between the two. The biggest worry online is that someone would put on a fake persona and worse lie about their identity, but outside of that you just have to put trust in people whose mind you can't read y'know. Online friends might pull some ****, real life friends might too. Comparing my past online and real life friendships, the online ones were always much more accepting of course.
And, like, your real life friends probably don't live with you either. Why would it matter if they're 10km or 1000km away? Either they're there or they're not, I can understand why a physical connection to someone would influence your level of intimacy with them but seeing them on a screen is pretty close to seeing them in real life. Our friendships aren't defined by being able to touch someone physically. You either vibe with someone or you don't. Online interactions can be intimidating, but people can also show their truer self through initial anonymity and the ability to think as long as you need before you communicate. As long as you're willing, you can make deeper connections online much easier.
Looking back, I just think equally of them. Both require work and have different challenges. But they're both valuable to have.
And, like, your real life friends probably don't live with you either. Why would it matter if they're 10km or 1000km away? Either they're there or they're not, I can understand why a physical connection to someone would influence your level of intimacy with them but seeing them on a screen is pretty close to seeing them in real life. Our friendships aren't defined by being able to touch someone physically. You either vibe with someone or you don't. Online interactions can be intimidating, but people can also show their truer self through initial anonymity and the ability to think as long as you need before you communicate. As long as you're willing, you can make deeper connections online much easier.
Looking back, I just think equally of them. Both require work and have different challenges. But they're both valuable to have.
I love the connection I have with irl friends, especially the chemistry we have when we meet. But my online convos are a lot more fun with my internet friends. I appreciate them both equally but it would be nice to see some of them face to face one day^^
Dwayne Johnson
Speaker | Change Maker | Visionary | Life Coach
i've had a lot of online friends that i like to talk to but i'd still rather have more irl friends, i feel like the connection is more real when its with people who are in your life irl
As a kid I was told to NEVER talk to strangers on the internet, never engage with anyone. Never give anythin personal, my name, where I lived, don't give anyone an ounce of information about me. I wasn't allowed to have any social media growing up or even called to use the internet outside or research for school, and even then it was a HASSLE to get on the computer to do anythin. My parents always watched over my shoulder and got mad at me for the stupidest things, like when I selected my search in the drop down menu instead of fully typing it out. Yeah. Pretty archaic and overly helicopter.
From that I had the mentality that anyone I talked to online isn't my friend even if we interacted regularly and were generally friendly. Slowly thou I grew out of this as I started engaging in social stuff more, tumblr which was my first social media, then ACC, belltree and twitter. Now I share and say things to online friends/strangers that I don't with my irl friends. Granted I'm still careful and maybe overly cautious about what I share online/others I talk to, like my location (timezone and country doesn't count, I mean my state) my real name (that I don't like anyway) and other stuff.
But I've come to accept that online friends are just as good as irl, if not maybe even better since I don't feel pressured to keep a façade up around irl friends. Would I ever tell irl friends I'm depressed and my mental state is a mess? Only if they found out, which they certainly aren't finding out from me telling them, and I doubt they suspect anythin. Would I ever tell irl friends the stuff I post about in the What's Bothering You thread, where I get really personal with myself and admit thoughts/feelings I don't want to admit myself? Only if they found out, which again I would never tell them myself.
From that I had the mentality that anyone I talked to online isn't my friend even if we interacted regularly and were generally friendly. Slowly thou I grew out of this as I started engaging in social stuff more, tumblr which was my first social media, then ACC, belltree and twitter. Now I share and say things to online friends/strangers that I don't with my irl friends. Granted I'm still careful and maybe overly cautious about what I share online/others I talk to, like my location (timezone and country doesn't count, I mean my state) my real name (that I don't like anyway) and other stuff.
But I've come to accept that online friends are just as good as irl, if not maybe even better since I don't feel pressured to keep a façade up around irl friends. Would I ever tell irl friends I'm depressed and my mental state is a mess? Only if they found out, which they certainly aren't finding out from me telling them, and I doubt they suspect anythin. Would I ever tell irl friends the stuff I post about in the What's Bothering You thread, where I get really personal with myself and admit thoughts/feelings I don't want to admit myself? Only if they found out, which again I would never tell them myself.
I tend to value in-person friendships a little more, but that’s just because they translate into fun hangouts. I have some online friends and talking to them helps me a lot when I’m struggling, though. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to, whether it’s online or irl.
I think people are overly judgemental when it comes to other people having online friends, though. No one wants to hear that you don’t think their friendships are valid just because they’re online rather than irl. As long as a person is happy and has people to talk to, who cares where their friends are?
I think people are overly judgemental when it comes to other people having online friends, though. No one wants to hear that you don’t think their friendships are valid just because they’re online rather than irl. As long as a person is happy and has people to talk to, who cares where their friends are?
mayortiffany
Senior Member
I personally value my real-life friends more. Maybe it's because I've never really had internet friends, but then again, it's not something that I actively seek out. I feel that meeting friends in real life allows you to be able to create better bonds together, and I believe it's easier to get to know the person better that way. I think it's much easier to see what a person is like when you are able to see them interacting with the real world. I find it much easier to read tone in person as well.
This is not to say that online friendships are not valid! I have heard so many people talk about the wonderful friends that they have met online, and there are certainly more opportunities to meet people online than in real life - especially nowadays as we're all inside. This is just to say that if I had to pick between having good real life friends and good online friends, I'd personally pick having good real life friends.
This is not to say that online friendships are not valid! I have heard so many people talk about the wonderful friends that they have met online, and there are certainly more opportunities to meet people online than in real life - especially nowadays as we're all inside. This is just to say that if I had to pick between having good real life friends and good online friends, I'd personally pick having good real life friends.
I never really had a preference over either, but having real life friends was nice for the reason I could go out and be with them in person, which is definitely something I wish I could do with my online friends. However, from previous relationships with someone irl who chose someone online over me, it still hurts to think that a physical connection isn't want someone wants.
i consider my irl and online friendships to be the same but like with any regular relationship, i have stronger relationships with some than i do with other - with irl friends, i have the ability to see them and physically hang out with them which i like. but with my online friends, it feels like i have a deeper connection with them as communication is much more important with them as that’s the main fundamental of our friendship and kinda makes up for the lack of physical contact ;u;
Internet friendships ARE real life friendships because the internet consistsof real people. It's a communication device, not some magical parallel world.
That said, for the longest time I was massively stressed and sick to the point of utterly despising humans... turns out that was because I was constantly forced to be around them. Now that I have enough control over my life to keep my friendships strictly online, I'm actually able to have friend without wanting to throw myself off a building after a while.
That said, for the longest time I was massively stressed and sick to the point of utterly despising humans... turns out that was because I was constantly forced to be around them. Now that I have enough control over my life to keep my friendships strictly online, I'm actually able to have friend without wanting to throw myself off a building after a while.
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