Are online friends just as important as offline friends?

[Virulence 254]

I think online friends are just as important. I have a bunch of them and it's just as important to keep in touch with them and your friends in real too. Of course if you guys become very good friends, there is always the choice of texting. (:

[Gone Airbourne 21,969]

I have thought about this actually a lot. Yeah making friends online like on these forums is important and friendships are very important to me. But what gets me is since this is the first forum I have ever been apart of. I always wonder about the day when this place will eventually be no more. Will we all go our separate ways? I suppose that just depends how strong of friendships have been made on here. I'll enjoy it while it lasts

Edited February 23, 2013 by Gone ϟ Airbourne

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

I think it kinda depends...if you have really gotten to know someone then yes, of course they're just as important.

But if its someone who have just kinda chatted with a couple times...than maybe not.

So pretty much like real life. If you have gotten to know someone, they're important.

But if you just kinda chatted with someone then I wouldn't really consider them a "friend" more of an "acquaintance"

[)O( Scarlet )O( 1,259]

Well considering that most, if not ALL of my friends are on-line  being as I feel more comfortable chatting with people on-line rather than in person for some messed up reason, i would say yes they are. But just like friend in real life, you have to be careful to treat them properly, if you disrespect them, you will end up losing them, and just like in real life, you cannot expect them to respect you if you do not respect them first. One rule I personally live by is, respect is earned (with family and friends of family being exceptions), but in order for me to respect you, you have to show respect towards me first, if you disrespect me, then I will not give you respect.

[Abstract 831]

For a long, long time, my only friend was a guy I met on another forum. He pretty much was all my social contact outside of my family, and kept me less depressed and lonely than I could have been.

 

I consider him a true friend, this person who didn't even live in the same country as me, as we talked almost all day, almost everyday and bonded beyond a point I thought was possible between friends. To me at least, an internet friend can be as, if not more important than IRL friends.

[Limey 524]

Its great that people here think the same as me, I value my online friends much more than my IRL friends simply because they are much better people. I think its because there is a much larger pool of people on the internet , millions, rather than at my school, where there are just about 150.

 

One of my friends finds racism funny, one is a snob who has no regard for people's feelings, and another is depressed constantly (the only one I'd truly call a good friend). But they're all I've got in the real world. And people wonder why I'm a closet. Something like that getting out could literally get me killed.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Spess

[Captain Gobblez 55]

I believe a mix of IRL friends and online friends is the best thing to have. I've played WoW A LOT and I was a member of an rp guild and we had a very busy and fun time! It was like having a second family. After I quit WoW I had a brief time that I thought was lonely. But I picked up my social life and now I have a lot of IRL friends too. 

[Plentyy 26]

Yes, i think online friends are just as importnant as real life friends. Sure, going out with friend IRL is good and nice, but nothing beats those long and amazing gaming nights with your gaming friends.My best friend is someone i have never even seen IRl, we met on steam, and yet he is a better friend to me than all of my real life friends.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Plentyy

[Wandering-Flare 71]

I definitely feel so; friends are friends no matter what. If you had a friend in the next town, you wouldn't NOT be friends with them just because they don't live in the same town as you. It's kind of the same, just a [much] longer distance. But if the friendship is real, distance doesn't matter. Plus, you can only meet so many people in your real life... going on the internet gives you SO many more opportunities to make new, possibly even better, friends.

 

I guess my point is enforced by the fact that all my online friends are better than all but one of my real life friends. Much better - nobody makes fun of me over the internet, well, not my friends at least. It feels more like a friendship, rather than somebody I hang around with and we banter/insult one another. The insults are usually friendly and playful, mind you, but it's still kind of odd. ^^;

 

I stand by: Friends are friends, no matter what.

[Night Shine 767]

Online friends > "Real" friends

 

The only difference between the two is 'physical' interaction. I.E, the other person has an opportunity to judge you based on trivial matters: physical appearance, your given name, voice, who you're related to, etc.

Online, all that people know about you is all that anypony needs to know: your interests, your personality, and your style of 'speaking' online.

 

In real life, friends (especially in school) have to 'put on a mask' to hide their whole true self from society's judgemental eyes. On the internet, you are free, free to be whoever you want to be. You choose literally everything about how people judge you: You choose your name. You choose your 'appearance' (usually a profile picture). You choose whether or not you act mean or annoying (often, people act mean or annoying in real life because they cannot help it). You choose your interests, your style of speaking, your humor, how intelligent or unintelligent you sound.......you choose who you are.

 

As opposed to IRL, where most of who you appear to be is chosen by a) your parents society or c) nature.

 

Somepony who you are friends with online actually can know you much better than somepony who you are 'friends' with IRL.

 

 

 

EDIT: That said, I still value IRL friends; I have a ton of very friendly people that I hang out with at school. Still, I feel like each one only gets a glimpse of who I actually am.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Night Shine

[Limey 524]

What makes this all even worse for me is that my family views the computer as some sort of 'satanic entity' (OK, maybe a slight exaggeration), trying their best to restrict whenever I can go on it. If only they knew how much of a lifeline the internet is to me right now, but I can't bear to tell them.

 

God, I really need a hug right now.

[Betez 1,734]

Yes, in my opinion. I think the only reason people IRL think that your online friends aren't who they say they are/your friends/important/etc. is because they haven't met them, and that it's harder to meet them if it's online. I try to have friends in real life too, but I also love my friends online.

[SCS 7,443]

Recently, I've been really good friends with someone I met online, actually better than anyone I know IRL, but I've been wondering, do you find online friends just as important as real life friends? I bring this up because my parents keep saying how online friends aren't real, but what about pen pals? Weren't they considered real friends? And if someone I met online is a better friend than I know in real life surely that says something? I'm not saying this as if I have no real life friends, I'm just saying that I prefer my online friends.

 

I believe that both are very important. All of our friends, online or not, are real people. The only thing that changes is how we communicate with them. Both ways of communication have their pros and cons, their dangers and safeguards. I feel closer to some of my online friends than some of my in person friends, but I have in person friends I feel close to as well. The majority of my in person friends I just sort of goof off with and hang out with from time to time. I'd consider two of my in person friends to be best friends, though, one of which I can go to about literally anything, no matter how personal it is. I'm also very close to a few people on the internet, but not as close as I am to that one friend of mine in person. 

 

So, both of them are important, because all of them are real people. 

Edited February 23, 2013 by SCS

[Wingnut 6,732]

I think they're both important.  Online friends have one advantage over real friends: It is much easier to discern people who have common interests, values, and points of view.  They can also be found IRL, but it's much more time consuming with numerous awkward moments and dead ends.  It seems like everyone here likes ponies, for instance, and that allows all of us to truly be ourselves. 

[Agent505 660]

There are about 5 people I would class as true friends for me IRL. 

Online? Well...I don't know. I talk to a lot of people, but I always struggle to actually get to know anyone properly. 

I would say though, I have made far more online friends than I have IRL, and I would consider them both equal to each other. A friend is a friend no matter where they're from. Just because there's a screen separating you, doesn't mean you can't make something of it.

[Aeon Of Dreams 115]

Depends on how you define "friend", though I find I tend to enjoy the ones I meet online somewhat more. My "real" friends only really saw me when the setting demanded it (like school for example), but 99% of the time I did not see them outside of school (there were some occasions, but very little beyond that). Now that high school is over, they have not really communicated with me at all which is quite telling. I don't resent them for it, they were really nice guys and I had fun with them when I did see them, though I would also like to point out that I don't feel entitled to what they did or do "extracurricularly" so to speak. However, it does make me think about whether or not they were really "friends" or just really good acquaintances.

 

Online is a different story, there I have people from all over the world who are willing to talk about things that no one I know in real life has any interest in, and we have fun, not really in a face-to-face sense but that really doesn't matter in the moment. The relationship may not be face to face, but it is still meaningful. In short, yes, friendships are not devalued because they are only through the internet.

Edited February 23, 2013 by The Oneiromancer

[Scatterbolt 15]

Because the online community is so large you have many many personalities on it are more likely to run into someone with more similar interests and such then you would in real life. Of course, sometimes online friends like this become real life friends, I have a few. Though, I am cautious about who I meet in RL that I have met from online.

 

And now I have the true true friend song stuck in my head again.

[Blue Lightning 275]

I honestly don't get it. I consider all my friends online just as real as my friends offline. I don't see the separation except distance. Just because you talk to people far away from you does not mean they're not real friends and that you could never meet these people in real life. If I were friends with someone who was not being themselves, then I would say they weren't real. Also, online friends are probably better friends then those in a local area. Especially the more unique of a person you are. What do you guys think?

[Argos 191]

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Edited March 16, 2014 by Argos

[Jokuc 8,172]

Because even though you have chatted with them, if you haven't actually met them in person, you can't say that you know them. Of course internet friends are real friends. Who says you need to know the persons who you consider as friends? A friend is what you want it to be. It can just be someone you like if that's how you see it.

 

Though I wouldn't say that I know my online friends. Chatting and meeting someone for real is very different.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Jokuc

[Nohbdy 4,108]

In addition to communications barriers (which are lessening as technology advances), there's the issue of trust and credibility. It's much easier to be fake on the Internet, and the potential for deception is a major barrier toward any relationship. Trust is a key element of friendship (just ask Applejack ), and the threat of misrepresentation can quickly put a damper on a potential friendship. IRL friends are easier to make and easier to trust. At the same time, however, this can also mean that real friendships made through the Internet may be stronger than they would have been in real life.

[Dashmagic 19]

My mom always jokingly calls my online friends my "imaginary friends". Lol.

 

I don't think there's much of a difference except for the fact that I have more and better online friends. I have a few good irl friends but I'm really limited to the amount of people I can come in contact with irl. 

 

Online it's far simpler and I meet a ton of different people. I have a handful of online friends that I consider just as much my friend as my irl ones. I'll Skype chat with 'em, play games, etc. I honestly find it easy to maintain contact with online friends, since I'm kind of an introvert and I frequently blow off friends and outside things. 

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Eventually there will be no difference, as technology improves. We're just not quite there yet. There's too much information lost with the barriers of text posts, and even voice chat.

 

That's not to say you can't have friends online, it's just that long-distance friendships are hard to maintain in any depth. It's easier now that it was years ago, but it's still slightly more difficult than people you see daily face-to-face.

 

EDIT: Mind you, shallow friendships (and I don't mean that derogatorily, I just can't find a better word), are easier to maintain online because you *don't* have the face-to-face contact that can actually cause friction between people.

 

Again, you can have deep friendships online, and you can have shallow friendships in RL. It's just a matter of different amounts of energy you have to put into maintaining these friendships thanks to the medium.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Fhaolan

[Blue Lightning 275]

In addition to communications barriers (which are lessening as technology advances), there's the issue of trust and credibility. It's much easier to be fake on the Internet, and the potential for deception is a major barrier toward any relationship. Trust is a key element of friendship (just ask Applejack ), and the threat of misrepresentation can quickly put a damper on a potential friendship. IRL friends are easier to make and easier to trust. At the same time, however, this can also mean that real friendships made through the Internet may be stronger than they would have been in real life.

I agree with that deception concept. However, no body else seems to be that way unfortunately ya' know? I met a guy over craigslist in looking for band members and he's like the #1 friend I can refer to now-a-days. And he doesn't live that far too. While it is true that people can fake everything better (and believe me you, I would LOVE to see people get out of their house now-a-days instead of being tied to the lies of tv and the internet), there are some really great people online too. I think the convenience of technology is gonna send everyone into having more and more social and mental issues as time wears on.

 

My mom always jokingly calls my online friends my "imaginary friends". Lol.

 

I don't think there's much of a difference except for the fact that I have more and better online friends. I have a few good irl friends but I'm really limited to the amount of people I can come in contact with irl. 

 

Online it's far simpler and I meet a ton of different people. I have a handful of online friends that I consider just as much my friend as my irl ones. I'll Skype chat with 'em, play games, etc. I honestly find it easy to maintain contact with online friends, since I'm kind of an introvert and I frequently blow off friends and outside things. 

That's my point exactly. The internet turns that concept of "plenty of fish in the sea" to be able to access anyone whenever.

Like how they say you'll find the right people for you one day. The people that you can relate to, tend to live much further than friends that are only your friends for all the wrong reasons!

[Flicker Sweet 3,391]

I usually try to skype with the people I talk to a lot on here.  That way we've at least (somewhat) spoken face-to-face, but I'm weird like that.