Do you guys feel like you are dependent on online friendships?

[lolagemma]

I would admit that yeah, in a way it's not really something you can avoid as much nowadays, everything revolves around the internet, I mean things like facebook etc. have given us that choice to have online friendships, and when I think about it now, if I didn't have my phone or internet, I probably wouldn't speak or see anyone I know for a while.
But I don't think there is anything wrong with depending on relationships with people online, I have met people over facebook etc, that I know I can count on, and I've made friendships over the internet which have developed into close friendships.
Major example, I have met someone over this very forum, who I've grown to pretty much adore in every single way, shape and form, even though he's at the other side of the world from me. we skype every single night, and we email etc. Just because I talk to him over a computer, does not mean that our friendship is any different from face-to-face. If anything, it's made me learn more about him, people are quick to judge, in any circumstances, and in this type of situation, you talk, alot. and the more you talk to people, the more you learn about them, and the more you can understand them for them, rather than their looks, or the front they put on. It's nothing to worry about, at least you have the pleasure of friends? it shows that people care about you, and having them there is better than nothing surely? x

 

[cities]

I don't feel like I am dependent on online friendships, but I have made some good friends online, and hope to make more.

The thing about online friends, is that only so many people live close to you, so if you don't try to meet people from other countries, or parts of your country, you might be missing out on meeting cool people.

 

[Ian Haines]

I have absolutely no friendships, online or offline.

My last existing friend died on June 6th of this year.

I feel dependent upon acquaintanceships, though, but nobody on that list do I regard as a friend - they've no idea what it means to be real friends, believe me. I spent years watching for signs of "friendshipness", in them, even trying to coax such out of them, at times. All pointless exercises and wasted emotional energy.

When they've got a problem, I've got their attention and then, like the fool that I am at such times, they've got mine, followed rapidly by my help.

When I've got a problem, they hastily build me a ghost town, in which phones fall silent and I get to listen while their own phones all make lots of noise until interrupted by the voice of some unknown woman who doesn't even know my name, or know I exist.

Days later, the wretched cycle starts over, the next time I have a useful function for the acquaintances to benefit from.

 

[Psycrow]

I also feel like that sometimes...I have like 2 freinds and they also have other friends..so they cant stick together with me always..so these days were i am alone then i think exactly the same like you...were the hell to find and make new friends.
i do speak to alot of people around were i go but that is just neighbors and so.im not shy but still i understand what you mean.

 

[lonelyfairy]

Yes, I feel like that. Online friendships makes me feel that I can continue living, that there are still some people who actually cares and wants to talk with me. Though... Sometimes online friendships makes me feel more lonely, because everyone lives so far away. I would probably be completely lonely without online friendships, they are very important to me.

 

[soul_in_isolation]

I used to try placing hope in online friendship, thinking it would be easier for me. But these things never last for me either. And surprisingly, they're not much easier to find than real friends.
I've come to hate online chatting. It's awkward, gets tedious too quickly, and you never truly know the person. Or even when the person was someone I actually knew in real life, but whom I was down to only being able to communicate with online, it's amazing how completely we'd drift apart. It's limiting and it still feels empty. I simply cannot consider a person I only communicate with that way to be a friend.

 

[Drcynic]

Online friendships did keep me alive at one point in my life.

 

[Bread]

I guess the answer is a definite 'yes'. I can talk to people online, and this has helped me alleviate the worst of my loneliness when times were tough.

 

[Ian Haines]

I strongly urge folk to learn to touch-type. Search and poke is too instrusive in the comms you're building. As you get faster and faster, you'll find yourself convinced that you're typing just about as quickly as you're thinking and certainly as quickly as you'd be speaking, had the person you're "talking to" been there, with you, in person.

It was one of the best things I ever taught myself to do, but it took a long time to build up to the speeds that I wanted (five letters a second) - more than 2 months, in fact. But, I'd never look back, over this. Diary keeping and book studying (keeping notes that you've typed in, etc.,) also improve, dramatically.

Touch typing takes away the 'drear' of typing and makes the communication, on screen, less tedious and the enjoyment of the conversation flow be felt far more.

 

[Ak5]

The only way I talk to people is online. The only people I see everyday are my parents and little brother.

I have been 100% dependent on online relationships for almost 4.5 years.

That's going to change in January though!

 

[SophiaGrace]

short answer? Yes.

 

[Felix]

I haven't been able to make friends on the internet. Chat bores me easily, I prefer forums, but I'm trying to chat to meet girls.

 

[IgnoredOne]

I haven't been able to make friends on the internet. Chat bores me easily, I prefer forums, but I'm trying to chat to meet girls.

Well, I give you points for honesty.

 

[beans]

but I'm trying to chat to meet girls.

That doesn't shock me.

 

[Limlim]

but I'm trying to chat to meet girls.

That doesn't shock me.

Girls smell nice

 

[IgnoredOne]

but I'm trying to chat to meet girls.

That doesn't shock me.

Girls smell nice

They also have boobies.

 

[SophiaGrace]

but I'm trying to chat to meet girls.

That doesn't shock me.

Girls smell nice

I agree. *sniffs herself conspicuously*

 

[DreamerDeceiver]

Despite having a golden retriever as a good friend, yes, I admit I do rely on making friends online. I have no other option.

 

[Polar]

Don't try to purge yourself from online friendships. Try to combine them with real life ones. Personally I still talk to people I have met online 6-7 years ago, and I do consider them friends. I have met them, and I will meet them more in the future. While I agree nothing beats a true-blue face-to-face friendship. Online friendships have benefits as well. It's easier to open up and talk about personal issues for instance. That alone is already a solid foundation for a meaningful friendship.
Maintaining them is not that easy, but it is possible if you put some effort in it.

 

[Ozcaptain]

the medium should not change the nature of the friendship, it is saying that my attitude toward 'phone friendships' should be different from 'face to face friendships.' One can certainly mourn the lack of a local friend to help you when you're moving, but that's distinct from the medium of how you met.

I like this quote. It reflects my own experience with online friendships. I've been writing on message boards for about 14 years and, at first, the contacts I made were called 'cyber' friends, or 'virtual' friends. But as the novelty of this whole internet thing wore off, I realized the only difference between this type of friendship and any other was the medium in which the friendship takes place. Online friendships have lower expectations -- you're not expected to be there physically, you don't even have to be there at all until it's convenient. I mean, here I am responding to a topic started four months ago.

But on the other hand, there's an emotional honesty most of us would sooner share online than offline. It's easier to admit stuff online when you're in your pajamas alone in your basement. I'm here because I was feeling lonely; do you think anyone in my offline life knows that? They don't. Online friendships may be built on slow-motion dialogues, one post at a time, but the levels of thought and feeling are often deeper than what we'd otherwise reveal. Less body, more mind.

I guess I'm saying don't invalidate your online friendships. Sure, usernames come and go, but so do casual acquaintances. The person behind the username is just as real as anyone you'd meet at work or school, it's just a newer way of meeting.