Why is communicating online so much easier then in person?

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because written words can be reread, but spoken words can not be re-heard.

I think what's easier about online communication that's easier is having time to think, being able to see the words you're composing, and not being face to face. It's good for anxiety or problems focusing. Everything else is much, much harder and less interesting.

Because you can check what you've written before sending it, or erase things what don't sound right before it's too late. When speaking to someone, you can't always take back what you've said. You could say something socially stupid before you can stop yourself, and you can't exactly erase what you've just said from the other person's memory.

There are pros & cons to both online and offline communication/interaction, IMHO.

However, one upside of typing & reading online, for me, is that I don't have to be outfitted in uncomfortable restrictive clothing.
When I'm out in public & amongst strangers, I have to look "presentable" and perform behavior "normally enough".
Using words on the internet, I can relax and feel physically comfortable (on a sensory level)
because I'm at home in my comfy soft/loose clothing-rather than having to worry about my appearance/body.
I also much prefer to be in my own home environment-it's where I feel safe and at ease. In public I feel tense and on edge.

It's not the only upside, but I didn't see it mentioned yet so I figured I'd throw it out there.

When I talk to people online, I don't have to worry about repeating myself to a lazy listener five times.

Online you can make your point without being interrupted 47 times every ten seconds.

I believe it's because, online, you have lots of time to think about your reply, and time to write and plan it out. Whenever I write a post, I always make tons of revisions before I am comfortable posting it.
In real life, you don't have time for that. You have to respond fairly quickly. Because of this, I usually speak either to quickly or too slowly, and I mix tons of words up and throw stuff in when it's not relevant. Plus, sometimes I say things that I don't realize are offensive, when online, I probably would have caught myself.

I think it is the case for most people (autistic or not) that one's writing will be more eloquent than one's speech. For me, the gap is just that much wider. Unless I'm going on about my special interest or I'm particularly comfortable with a person, I come off as very inarticulate. But when I'm writing, for all the reasons mentioned above, I come off as significantly less inarticulate. Maybe it helps that the words aren't being spoken by a nervous, quiet, monotone voice with extra-sibilant s's, too.

This is precisely how I feel. Even though I can take the time to say exactly what I intend to say online, I find online more difficult than in person. I've learned to figure out a lot of the things which I don't instinctively perceive in real life whereas, as bumble said, online there is so much ambiguity and misunderstandings abound as a result of it. At least in person when there is a misunderstanding people can see sincere contrition and so it's easier to de-escalate.

I've realized that this is very true for me recently, too.

Not only that, but I've also discovered that I am a much better typer than I am a writer.

It's usually better when I don't know what the person looks like, or even if I do, I can't always picture them that way. And they're not right near me, so they can't see how shy I look or sound. I can also say tings more easily because it doesn't involve having to use my voice, which I'm sometimes too shy to use.