are online friends really worth anything?

[gal_lisa]

hi,
i was just thinking about this...i mean, i love this forum and feel support here and stuff but am i fooling myself thinking that any of you are really my friend? i mean can i go out to a movie with any of u? can i call any of u for help when my car breaks down or any serious life stuff happens?
in all honesty, the answer is NO.
what i need are real people to be my friends. people in my town. yah, i'm on this great forum but i'm still sitting here alone in my room. lonely.
i don't mean to insult anybody, hope u don't take it that way. i just read this blog post and it got me thinking.

 

[Bella]

Online friends are definitely worth something.
Obviously the friendships are in a completely different capacity that sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, but I would never declare an online friendship "worthless". Ever.

 

[Terminus]

I know how you feel, having online friends, no matter how close they are, it doesn't take away your "real life" loneliness. But I definately think that online friendship is worth something, alot in some cases. It depends on the other person, of course, since everyone view things differently.

I've actually met up with some of my online friends, it's really cool to do that. One of them I have met up with in 3 different countries! Haha, crazy times.

 

[Oceanmist23]

I know exactly what you mean.
I've met many wonderful people on this forum, and I certainly want to do normal friend stuff with them like go to the movies, give them a call, go out for lunch and so on. But the people I've gotten to know who live closest to me still lives in the neighbouring country, and that creates a list of reasons why I shouldn't/can't do normal friend stuff with them. I can't afford it, they might not even want to see me, it's too far away...

It's hard meeting great people online and not being able to meet them in real life. I hope some day I can meet the handful of people I've gotten to know here, but it still doesn't solve the loneliness issue. I will still be without regular friends in my neighbourhood who I can visit, invite over and go out with on a weekly basis.

I've spoken to people on this forum from my own country, but they quickly lose interest. Why I do not know. I may not be the most interesting person in this country, but at least I'm a nice and friendly person who's not set out to hurt anyone's feelings.

This forum is what it is, a place for lonely people to talk to other lonely people. There is no guarantee for anything, not for regular friendships, not for romantic relationships. It happens, but there are many factors that need to come together for a so-called regular friendship to be created.

I'm very happy I've gotten to know some of the people on this forum, and I'm happy to call them my friends. Now I just need a plan to become rich so I can buy myself a private jet and visit my global friends whenever I like... lol

 

[Minus]

I can only say what has already been said. Yes they are worth something but we still need face to face or "real life" friends. Online friends are not a complete replacement for them.

 

[Van Hooligan X]

yes, they are. just cause distance is a problem doesn't mean you can't befriend someone who's 400, 4,000 or 40,000 miles away from you. i even have online friends that were origonally friends, but they moved. so we stayed in touch. :3

 

[Hope_Reigns]

The best friends I've had have been from online. The ones I met rl were worthless and temporary.. so yes, online friends are worth alot. I don't see why they wouldn't be. They're people all the same, that you can share your innermost thoughts with and care about, The only difference is you wouldn't be limiting yourself to a tiny local area when it comes to meeting people. And considering texting is more common than phone calls now adays, for rl friends.. really what is the difference.

 

[Naleena]

i was just thinking about this...i mean, i love this forum and feel support here and stuff but am i fooling myself thinking that any of you are really my friend? i mean can i go out to a movie with any of u? can i call any of u for help when my car breaks down or any serious life stuff happens?
in all honesty, the answer is NO.
what i need are real people to be my friends. people in my town. yah, i'm on this great forum but i'm still sitting here alone in my room. lonely.
i don't mean to insult anybody, hope u don't take it that way. i just read this blog post and it got me thinking.

Hi Lisa,
Friendships aren't defined by geographic locations. Just because a person doesn't live in your town doesn't mean they aren't "really" your friend. What happens when friends move away? Does it mean that they are no longer friends because they are not around anymore? I think not. They are still friends.
I do understand what you are saying though. It is good to have people you can physically talk to and call if you need help. Those are very important friendships, too. Good luck on making friends

 

[Estreen]

Well said Naleena.

I met my current bf of 4+ years online. We see each other like, once a year, but he is the closest person to me, who I talk to the most. I don't talk to any of my RL friends EVERYDAY, or sometimes even my parents and other family members. My online peeps are the ones that I do seem to talk to more because they're more easily accessible (via online) and we just seem to have more to chat about usually. It really does depend on the person though, and like others here I do see where you're coming from, and believe me, I do wish I had at least a few more RL friends to depend on.

 

[SadRabbit]

Humm, I disagree with you estreen. Online friends are worth something, but more often or not, relying on them might not be such a good idea. My personal experience (or maybe its just me), online friends come and go. At a time of need, they seem close to you, when they don't need you they move on. But anywayz, gal_lisa, no matter what, treasure all friendship. The fact that you can get to know them, that is something wonderful.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

It depends on the person. And it depends how you go about it
just like anythings else. Too much of anything is not good for ya.

People here help me alot...and i needed that connection with people.

It's almost like the GOD thing to me...
I love god and all...but man skin feels good
Unfortunately..too much skin is not too good for me either

 

[itsmylife]

I agree that online friends should be valued. I don’t think they solve the problem of loneliness because you haven’t got the face to face contact or someone to go out somewhere with but they can be just as important to someone. Online friends shouldn’t replace offline ones completely because you do need to have people closer to hand sometimes when things go wrong (they’re harder to find, but that’s another issue!).

I find you can often be more genuine with people you talk to online though. Sometimes I have to fake smile my way through a day surrounded by people whereas I can come online and chat without the effort of having to pretend anything! It doesn’t always work. I once met someone online who turned out to be a creep. However I also met someone who I got close to. Someone I could talk to about pretty much anything and we helped each other through a couple of tricky patches. I saw that person as a friend just as I would anyone I met offline.

I guess it really depends on how you define friendship and what you’re looking for. To me a friend is someone who cares about you and who is there for you and if you can get that through an online contact then why not!

 

[SadRabbit]

itsmylife, its been a long time since i saw you post, where were you lol!....anywayz but sometimes online friends cannot replace friends in real life because there is just this extra emotional bond... something undessribable.

 

[itsmylife]

itsmylife, its been a long time since i saw you post, where were you lol!....anywayz but sometimes online friends cannot replace friends in real life because there is just this extra emotional bond... something undessribable.

I've been right here lol.

 

[Skorian]

I think it just depends on the person.

 

[Gem]

I think that they can be worth alot if you find the right ones, just like in person. Ive had a couple of friends online which ive known for about 4 years now and im closer to them than the ones i have living nearby, i speak to them more often too, you can usually be yourself and say what your actually thinking. With people in real life, they might just want someone to keep them company till somebody else comes along, or want someone to go drinking/clubbing with etc, still without really liking you. But if you can spend hours talking with them online, i believe theres normally more meaning behind it.

 

[Estreen]

I agree with you Gem.

SadRabbit, I never said or implied that online friends should always be relied upon over RL (real life) friends, just, on a normal/regular basis, I find I chat with them more, due to me being on the computer a lot. Online friends shouldn't "replace" real life friends, but they're nice for when there's no one else around in real life.

 

[mintymint]

They are worth a whole lot to me

 

[Broken_Doll]

I think they really mean something.
I've never met him before but he persuaded me not to kill myself, we spoke for hours and hours and I finally felt like somebody understood how I feel.

 

[Nivek]

hi,
i was just thinking about this...i mean, i love this forum and feel support here and stuff but am i fooling myself thinking that any of you are really my friend? i mean can i go out to a movie with any of u? can i call any of u for help when my car breaks down or any serious life stuff happens?
in all honesty, the answer is NO.
what i need are real people to be my friends. people in my town. yah, i'm on this great forum but i'm still sitting here alone in my room. lonely.
i don't mean to insult anybody, hope u don't take it that way. i just read this blog post and it got me thinking.

I consider people I only to talk to online as sort of pen pals, like in the old days. My mom had a pen pal from Illinois for years, until the woman died.
BTW, yes, I think online friends can be valuable.