I know many people that have more online friends than in-person friends and they seem perfectly happy that way from what they show. Being able to connect with others online seems like a skill I was never able to pick up. I suppose I am more into in-person relationships as I feel much more connected to the friends I can physically spend time with at the park or at my house. With the virus keeping us contained in our residences, I don't really get the opportunity to meet up with my friends all that much. It seems those with online connections may only be getting closer during these times. I would be delighted to hear anyone's experiences with online friends as I couldn't really connect with anyone online myself, as mentioned previously. For those who have close bonds with both online friends and in-person friends, which category do you feel closer with? What are the different methods you have met friends through the virtual world?
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Online Friends or In-person Friends?
After reading the Room for Debate discussion for the opinion page titled, "Is Digital Connectedness Good or Bad for People?", I couldn't help but think about the differences between bonds people build with friends they met online versus friends they met in-person.
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Hi Claudio,
ReplyDeleteAs someone with both online and in-person friends, I would say that I'm generally closer with my in-person friends. Although, I have one online friend that I would consider to be really close with. It's easier for me to maintain friendships with people that I can meet up with often, versus people who might be living in a different time zone than me. However, it can be cool to make friends with people living in different countries, it opens up opportunities to learn about different cultures, languages, and customs. I think it can be a bit easier to form friendships with people online, a great way can be through online video games because you already have something in common with everyone there. The same with social medias, you can join mini communities of people with the same interests as you, or use/search through hashtags to find people with similar hobbies and opinions on specific topics.
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ReplyDeleteDuring this quarantine I've made some online friends but now they are people I don't talk to on a daily basis. I rather chose my in-person friends than my online friends because they are people I know personally and easy to communicate with. I have nothing against my online friends it's just different because they are people I don't see everyday at school and it's hard to keep contact with them. Meeting new people online is hard for introverted people like me but it's nice knowing that there are people who share the same interest as you. In my opinion a good way to meet people online is through a groupchat and different social media apps.
ReplyDeleteJust to put it out there right off the bat, I like in-person friendships a lot more. I have had some online friends who I used to play with on a daily basis a few different times with different people. None of these groups stuck together for very long though, my longest was about 3 or 4 months. It is a lot harder for me to keep online friends; most likely because we can not really connect with each other in-person, which I feel is the extra bit you need to become close friends... especially when you’re an awkward introvert. It is also easier to ignore somebody when you know you won’t see them in person, I’ve had experience. I would say you feel more connected in the moment, but you can’t really get connected enough to last most of the time. I have however kept really connected with my close, in-person friends over this quarantine. I talk with my closest friends everyday and often play video games with a few of them. So all in all, that physical interaction part of a friendship, is very important to me.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has online and in real life friends, I feel closer to my in real life friends due to the fact that I could physically see them and there's no big distance on being able to see each other. Although, I don't think there's any problem with having online friends as well. I love all of of my online friends. But I'm just not as close to them due to the fact that I don't talk to most of them on a daily basis. Throughout quarantine, I haven't really interacted with my in real life friends as much as well. That could be due to the fact that we aren't use to interacting online as much. Having social media friends is a great factor when it comes to being more socially active unlike some who are anti social. Although, there may be online friends, I feel like it's good to interact with people in real life too rather than depending on online.
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