Are internet friends real friends?

[Kollega]

...so your "online friends" are only your friends in a sense that your computer is your friend.

Master Computer is your friend. And if he's not, you're a commie mutant traitor.
[small]Cookies for the reference.[/small]

***

You can tell that "relationships without physical contact are inferior to ones with it" all you want. But for me, they certainly are real. Maybe it's because most teenagers where i live are only intrested in drinking beer, while i am not (which means that "real" friends are very hard to find). The point is, i certainly feel much better talking with people thousands of kilometres away than with my Hitler-esque little brother.

 

[Feste the Jester]

Yes they can be. But only having internet friends is really sad and pathetic to see (I know some people who fit the bill for this)

 

[Heart of Darkness]

...so your "online friends" are only your friends in a sense that your computer is your friend.

Master Computer is your friend. And if he's not, you're a commie mutant traitor.
[small]Cookies for the reference.[/small]

***

You can tell that "relationships without physical contact are inferior to ones with it" all you want. But for me, they certainly are real. Maybe it's because most teenagers where i live are only intrested in drinking beer, while i am not (which means that "real" friends are very hard to find). The point is, i certainly feel much better talking with people thousands of kilometres away than with my Hitler-esque little brother.

And, of course, it will be different to each individual person. It still doesn't really change the fact that it's a mediated form of communication, limited by the medium which it is sent through. Being connected through the Internet is about the same as having a telephone conversation; sure, you can have a grand old time, but ultimately you're only limited to just talking/typing and reading. Meeting in person allows for more than just talking.

I think that's part of the point of Marshall McLuhan's book The Medium is the Message, but I haven't read it, so I can't be sure. I should read it to make sure...

 

[Hollock]

It all depends on the people. They both have to be tight with one another. But I don't really know for sure, the people I would call my "online friends" probably wouldn't mesh with me online. Especially the guys I play fighting games with, which is weird because I got along with them the most and still sometimes play with them. Like I said it's all about who you are, and who they are.

 

[Tdc2182]

I personally think so, but kind of the opposite. I have the feelingthat I would like the people I generally hate (Except stupid people). For instance, Maxthereaper; I hated him on the forums. He was outspoken and just a tad bit of a troll. But I like people like that in real life. Perhaps I didnt like himm because he was hiding behind a computer and saying the hateful things he said.

 

[Hollock]

I used to play an MMO called Star Wars Galaxies with my "real life friend" Evan. Me and Evan were like the guys from Army of Two, we did all our adventuring together, we did every quest together, we were even roommates in the same house. (Yes, in SWG you could have houses).

One day, me and Evan were out hunting game on Kashyk, when Evan was downed by a monster. I rushed over to save him, but I wasn't strong enough to kill the creature. It looked like we were both going to die, when suddenly, a Wookie dressed in salvaged clone armor jumped out o the brush and shot the creature with his bowcaster. From that point on, it was no longer just Me and Evan, it was Me, Evan, and Raex, the Wookie.

We did everything together, and damn, did it hurt when we lost contact after I stopped playing.

It hurt bad.

[sub] I miss you Raex..... [/sub]

That's cool, in fact that should be the next star wars movie
[sub]couldn't be worse than the clone wars[/sub]

 

[Kollega]

Being connected through the Internet is about the same as having a telephone conversation; sure, you can have a grand old time, but ultimately you're only limited to just talking/typing and reading. Meeting in person allows for more than just talking.

I can get behind that. But i'm such a nerd that online friends are really the only people who won't try to throw bricks at me.

I may get some real friends in short time, though.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

Being connected through the Internet is about the same as having a telephone conversation; sure, you can have a grand old time, but ultimately you're only limited to just talking/typing and reading. Meeting in person allows for more than just talking.

I can get behind that. But i'm such a nerd that online friends are really the only people who won't try to throw bricks at me.

I may get some real friends in short time, though.

Have you considered looking at groups or clubs at your school? Have you actually taken the time to find someone with similar interests as you? The more effort you put in, even if it's just a single comment, can make the difference between not knowing someone and becoming their friend. Hell, I think I became friends with someone from my government class last semester because I said to him, before class, "I heard that our professor doesn't like men."

 

[Sporky111]

People you meet on the internet can absolutely be friends. Hell, I have more good friends online than I have in real life. Most of whom I've met on the Escapist.

I don't know if you can really get to know someone purely through forums, because I never have. However, with all my time spent in the RP section I've gotten to know several people very closely through interactions there (I don't mean interactions between characters. I mean actually planning out story segments together). Many of my RP friends, I now talk to regularly on Twitter and the User Groups.

Yes, I consider internet friend to be real friends. They're real people, I've seen many of their faces in pictures and videos they've shared, and I would be more than happy to meet them in real life.

 

[mrhappyface]

Well, it's like with people in real life. It matters how close together you get. I communicate with a lot of friends I moved away from over the internet. It's not that much different since I have PSN and Steam to communicate with them.

 

[SonicKoala]

I agree that strong bonds can be formed online, but I don't consider them to be on the same level as those forged with people you've physically met. The fact is there is this sort of intimacy which is forged between people once they've looked each other in the eye, and been in each other's physical presence - this applies to both men and women.

The people I meet online are nothing but words, an avatar, and a screenname - sure, there's a personality behind the words, and hell, maybe even a picture, but I can never truly know who that person is until I've met them face-to-face. Hell, many people on this very site have acknowledged that they are very different people online than they are in the real world, and ultimately it's the real-world persona that actually matters.

 

[Wolfgurl]

Well a friend is a friend regardless of whether you know them in person or not.

Oddly, I agree for once.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

Internet friends shouldn't even be considered real people. I'm not saying be a gigantic dick to everyone, but language is only around 10% of communication. The rest is body language, tone of voice, and physical appearance. So while text based communication is stripped down to almost nothing, you are still automatically filling in those blanks with whatever you find appealing.

So... yea. Unless you're talking over a webcam, there are no "people" on the internet. Hence the reason that until the rise of facebook, it wasn't even considered part of the real world.

 

[The Austin]

I used to play an MMO called Star Wars Galaxies with my "real life friend" Evan. Me and Evan were like the guys from Army of Two, we did all our adventuring together, we did every quest together, we were even roommates in the same house. (Yes, in SWG you could have houses).

One day, me and Evan were out hunting game on Kashyk, when Evan was downed by a monster. I rushed over to save him, but I wasn't strong enough to kill the creature. It looked like we were both going to die, when suddenly, a Wookie dressed in salvaged clone armor jumped out o the brush and shot the creature with his bowcaster. From that point on, it was no longer just Me and Evan, it was Me, Evan, and Raex, the Wookie.

We did everything together, and damn, did it hurt when we lost contact after I stopped playing.

It hurt bad.

[sub] I miss you Raex..... [/sub]

That's cool, in fact that should be the next star wars movie
[sub]couldn't be worse than the clone wars[/sub]

Spoiler: Take me seriously, I expect you too.

I can't. I just can't.

 

[Skoldpadda]

It's like in Die Hard, where Willis and that cop only communicate via radio, but they're buddies.

 

[VanityGirl]

Sure would.

Hazy is a bro for sho!


And I consider some of my friends on 360 and PSN to be good friends. I've known some of them for 2-3 years and have even met some, so yeah, I would consider them real friends.

 

[Maltyz]

I met my future wife on Xfire but shhh, dun tell anybody. o_o