[CHAT] Online friends!
A few years ago, I signed up to a site that was about having virtual penpals. There were people from all over the world where people could make friends and do language swaps. Being a somewhat sheltered individual, I was curious to find out what life was like on the other side of the world. Who knew that in Finland, you could acquire a moped licence at 15? Or that in Norway, there’s a massive month-long party for high school graduates? That it’s quite difficult to pass the motorbike licence test in Vietnam? So many strange yet wondrous things to know about how people live in other countries! The experience was short-lived but it had some good intentions to leave me less like a hermit crab.
There are so many social platforms that we use today to keep in touch with people - the options are endless when we want to connect with family and friends. We use these apps and sites to keep up with people we know and to make new friends. Over the years, more ingenious ways have been created to get to know others like online games, chatrooms and forums. No matter where you live, you can find other people in the world who think, act, and talk more like you, which can be a great releif if you live in a rural or remote area.
If you find it difficult to make friends in the real world it's sometimes easier to be confident within yourself online. In situations where you don’t have many friendship options, the internet can be a tempting place to spend all your time. Though this can be an effective way of feeling like you belong, it’s important to consider building your existing real life friendships (even if that means travelling around a bit)
If you’re happy with having all your friends online, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The problem arises only if you are having difficulty with offline relationships as well. Avoiding making friends offline can be a sign that there’s something a bit more serious going on.
***Whether you keep in touch with your friends online or prefer to catch up face-to-face, or if you've made new friends online - we want to hear from you! Join us to chat about online friendships on Monday 28 July at 8pm, AEST!***
Thanks again everyone, and thanks for the final tips @Bee and @stonepixie 🙂
Goooood nigggghhhhht!
I know it's a bit quiet tonight guys, so I very much appreciate everyone for contributing.
I might flip it over for this question..
Are there dangers of meeting people/making friends online? If so what are they?
Are there dangers of meeting people/making friends online? If so what are they?
There are a few dangers of meeting people you've met online
1. You don't actually know them, they could be someone they say they're not. This could be dangerous because they might try to hurt you (but we hope not!)
2. It could be someone you do actually know posing as someone else to get information from you and you have made clear previously you don't want them to know! (I have actually seen this first hand! 😮 )
There are others that I'm probably missing, but cannot think of now..
@Bee it's scary how easily people might be able to do that. I hope everything turned out okay in the end!
I guess on that note...
How can you ensure online friendships are safe?
How can you ensure online friendships are safe?
- Never revealing sensitive info about yourself like where you live
- uhm..?
Very solid point @Bee , don't be tempted to give details out online, probably even a good thing to be cautious about with people you genuinely know. They say once things are on the internet they're there to stay!
I think using trusted websites is probably another good one.
Are there dangers of meeting people/making friends online? If so what are they?
Yeah, definitely. Obviously not really knowing if the person you are meeting is who they say they are.
And leading on from that, the dangers with online predators etc.
I guess on another level, there could also be some dangers associated with limiting relationships to JUST online. I think it's pretty important to be able to interract with people in person too.
I think another benefit is that it's not based on what you look like, takes away some judgement. Although, I suppose you can sometimes put forward an online image of yourself.
They're not the same but they can be just as important/special.
want to elaborate on that @redhead ? What ways do you think they are the same or how are they still special? I do agree that online friends can still be close, but I think it still depends on how much effort you put into it- like any friendship!
Online you lose body language and verbal cues so it makes it harder to read subtext and context. I personally prefer online or digital forms of conversation tho, it's easier for me and reduces anxiety.
@redhead good point. That's a definite positive of online friendships, it does reduce some anxiety and we'll look at more pros and cons later on. I think looking at FB, you can be friends... even if you don't actually ever talk/chat online to each other...
Are there differences in communicating with friends online compared to in person?
When you are communicating to people online you also have the time to think about what you want to say and then type that out. When you are communicating in person you think about the words you want to use as you are talking to that person.
Also when you are communicating in person you can sometimes fill-in other people's sentences; communicating through the FaceBook chat doesn't allow you to do that.
