Is online friendship inferior to real life friendship

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BeauZa
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07 Mar 2010, 11:58 pm

pensieve wrote:

I don't think they're inferior. They're still real people. You just can't see them or hear them.

Mate, that is so right-on! I could use this with my sister; she seems to have a hate-on for online friendships but at least I can convince her that the people I talk to are actually PEOPLE and not simulators.

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Kralan
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08 Mar 2010, 12:02 am

BeauZa wrote:

pensieve wrote:

I don't think they're inferior. They're still real people. You just can't see them or hear them.

Is sister's reasoning is more along the lines of friends are people you go out an do activities with? Because that is one thing that you dont get with online friendships.

BeauZa
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08 Mar 2010, 12:03 am

Kralan wrote:

Im gonna say, that online friends lack certain parts of friendship, mainly the ability to share experiences, that make them slightly inferior

That's certainly true! I think that while having friendships with someone that you've met online, which can be quite a boon for people who are uncomfortable with socializing, there are times when we have to contemplate on how much we could benefit from having at least one IRL friendship; this will keep us from becoming shut-ins and hermits... no offense to the shut-ins and hermits of course! I am one of your kind! :3

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BeauZa
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08 Mar 2010, 12:18 am

Kralan wrote:

Is sister's reasoning is more along the lines of friends are people you go out an do activities with? Because that is one thing that you dont get with online friendships.

I'm well aware of it mate, and sometimes I make friends on Facebook, Tagged, WrongPlanet

, etc., that are so good to me that it pains me to realise that I may never get to meet up with them...

But to answer your question (hopefully) to a satisfactory level, my sister is a social butterfly and prefers to make friends that she can hang out with. So yeah, she thinks it such an oddity to the extent that she says that these people are "not real". Funny thing though, one time she said that while I was talking to someone that I knew from school. That made her look pretty silly! ^_^

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Eggman
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08 Mar 2010, 2:25 am

what is this "real life" you speak of?

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BeauZa
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08 Mar 2010, 2:49 am

Eggman wrote:

what is this "real life" you speak of?

By "real life", the thread creator and everybody else means it in the context of "outside of the internet".
We have our friends that we know online and the "real life" friends, who are the friends that we can talk to and connect with outside of the internet.

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Eggman
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08 Mar 2010, 2:57 am

real is for me that which exists, so to me an online friend and an offline friend are the same, even if my interactions are not.

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BeauZa
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08 Mar 2010, 3:31 am

Eggman wrote:

real is for me that which exists, so to me an online friend and an offline friend are the same, even if my interactions are not.

Whatever you like mate, but may I remind you you were asking about "real life", which means outside of any form of medium?
"Real" means to be existent, which is slightly straying from the topic. With all respect...

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CaptainTrips222
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15 Mar 2010, 1:58 am

I feel a little weird reading this. I've never even been able to establish online friendships. How do you do that?

FreeSpirit2000
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15 Mar 2010, 3:28 am

All I can say is be careful who you meet online. Go try to meet people in real life, at your local bookstore, library, church, youth group, skate park, athletic areas, etc. Meeting people in real life is the most worthy. Digital freinds are not the real things. You are not really truly communicating with them, this is my opinion.

Who_Am_I
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15 Mar 2010, 4:06 am

BeauZa wrote:

Eggman wrote:

real is for me that which exists, so to me an online friend and an offline friend are the same, even if my interactions are not.

Whatever you like mate, but may I remind you you were asking about "real life", which means outside of any form of medium?
"Real" means to be existent, which is slightly straying from the topic. With all respect...

The internet doesn't exist?

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morrison
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15 Mar 2010, 7:24 am

I like having online friends, and half of them i got to know online I have also met in real life (on star wars related meetigns)

Asp-Z
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15 Mar 2010, 8:11 am

Quote:

Is online friendship inferior to real life friendship

No.

Taupey
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15 Mar 2010, 7:49 pm

RaizTheCraZe wrote:

The whole past several years of my life has consisted of being online because of other issues peaking or getting out of hand. I originally started when I was 12, I'm 19 almost 20 now and I've made some of the best friends of my life. Australia, Germany, they're all over. More so than I can say for real life friends that I've had (there are exceptions).

IMO, it's easier on the internet because of what you just said about body language and other complications. No need to be self-conscious (at least not me), don't have to worry about looking stupid, etc. A lot less worries and such to deal with.

That being said, online friendships can also lack in certain areas or aspects like getting a cup of coffee or borrowing things, they can also be the best thing ever when you're stuck inside during a dark period of your life and they're there for you. I have friends online, ones that aren't by FAR neurotypical, as well as ones that are neurotypical but are still very unique and don't fit into the average crowd.

So yeah, they pretty much are equal but are both different and can be a great alternative or a first step.

I agree. I have friends who I have met online and developed friendships with, then later did things with them in real life. And we still communicate online. Not constantly but we have kept in touch for over 12 years. To me friendships on and off the Internet are of equal value.

elderwanda
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15 Mar 2010, 9:59 pm

CaptainTrips222 wrote:

I feel a little weird reading this. I've never even been able to establish online friendships. How do you do that?

I haven't a clue how people do that.

Honestly, I don't think I even want to establish online friendships. I enjoy coming to WP, and there are a number of people here who I kind of feel like I "know" a bit. It's nice to be able to say, "Oh look, another post from so-and-so. I wonder how he/she is doing." But I think I would start to feel a bit invaded if someone started bombarding me with PMs or whatever it is that online friends do with each other.

As Alex Hughes from "Snow Cake" says, "I am not a chatty person."

Salonfilosoof
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16 Mar 2010, 10:26 pm

With real life friends, you can share activities like watching a film, going to a pub, traveling, etc. With online friends, all you can do is talk and perhaps play an online game. This makes me value real life friends more than online friends, although conversation can get just as personal and just as deep with someone online as in real life.

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