More friends online or IRL?

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My ratio is probably 3:1 Internet:Real, in terms of both quality and quantity. I think I prefer socialising online. I'm grateful for friends whatever form they come in.

Voted online but I could have also voted that I don't have any. lol.

I'd say, more IRL than online. It's not that I'm good at having friends IRL--I'm tired of always being "on guard" or defensive all the time. But on the Internets, I'm always such a divisive figure. I don't mean to be, I'm just not good at expressing emotion or interest here.

Now, if we had a standard for emotional tags...

I have five friends in real life and none online, so I I have more in real life. How does one go about making friends online?

I've had some online friends I had made around my special interest, which is a band, but they turned out to be awful and I was very hurt by them (it turns out that liking the same band is not something that counts as having something in common). I did nothing to befriend them, though, they befriended me, so I don't know how it would work unless someone else were to make the first move. I also used to have a blog and there were several people who were regulars who left comments, but I didn't count them as actual friends.

You made me think of how I see people physically. It's usually by the color clothes they're wearing. Once I get to know someone I also just sort of intuitively know their wardrobe palette and when I see someone for the first time on a given day I register their clothing, then if I'm looking for them I'm looking for that particular shirt or jacket in the crowd.

I had a friend who always used to wear red coats. She changed to orange at some point and I kept losing her on the street or in the train station.

I only have friends in real life, I don't have any online.

Hmm..
I have one friend IRL who has a circle of friends around him who, by proxy, are available to me and respect me and interact with me as friends. However, the "central friend" is the known catalyst to any such gathering. He is not always involved in every conversation, though, which leaves me defining these "satelite people" as friends.

I have online game 'friends' - people I look for and who look for me on a regular basis. (In fact some might be considered fans, rather than 'friends'.) Again I must consider the range of the term friends - my online companions offer some real life discussion with each other, though most of our interaction is game-oriented. Our patter can get quite personal.

And online, there are also forums. Where I am sometimes involved in public or private interactions with other posters - they are seldom intimate in nature, or of the level I would label 'friends'. Not to say there aren't such interactions or people I would consider possibly friends.

I would say real life trumps online at the moment. But not by a very overwhelming margin, and only by the definition indicated above. It could tilt the other way with a different definition.

Last edited by OddFiction on 26 Oct 2010, 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

IRL. Got maybe four friends I see a lot. A few others I'll just meet up by chance one night. They're all on the internet too. Used to have more internet friends but things have changed.

all my friends are IRL but I spend a lot of time communicating with them online ironically. It would be nice to make a 'pure' online friend tho

I have two friends irl who I never see, to the point where they might as well be online buddies who I speak to on the phone. Online I lack friends, in real life I lack friends. The simple point is, I have no friends, in the sense that very few = none.

I think that's why, when I do have friends, they tend to be hippies, punkers, goths -- various subcultures known for unusual dress. I may not be able to tell faces apart, but I can easily recognize someone by their tie-dye!

I have many more friends online.

I've stopped accepting acquaintances as "friends" on FB - I've had people from school who I barely remember inviting me as a friend. I am keeping it to genuine friends (regardless of if I met them in person or online!). People I know I could contact if things had gone wrong and they would listen to me/comfort me, even if they weren't in a position to help, and who I would feel comfortable doing the same for. Oh and family... I have numerous cousins who are friending me, but there would be family consequenses if I didn't say "yes" to them... But you can ignore a handful of random posts!

I don't make new friends very easily. Out of all the people I met online, only two of them are "friends", and they don't really talk to me unless were playing a game together. One I've known for 10 years now, the other I've known for 4.

My other friends, the ones I met in person, I've known them all since at least 12 years of age.