Are Internet Friendships Healthy?

[ANARCHit3cht]

The most common argument against having OTI friends is that it's no harmful per se, but some people get too social online and forget their real lives. Well, people can become too consumed in IRL socialization as well. There are people that are always partying at the expense of holding down stable jobs and long-term romantic relationships.

Exactly. I don't think that it is so much the type of relationship you have, so much as how consumed you are by it. If you are too obsessed with local relationships, and going out all the time, you can't really make much of yourself. The same goes for online relationships, if you spend all your time conversing with your buddies abroad, you still won't have that time.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Exactly. I don't think that it is so much the type of relationship you have, so much as how consumed you are by it. If you are too obsessed with local relationships, and going out all the time, you can't really make much of yourself. The same goes for online relationships, if you spend all your time conversing with your buddies abroad, you still won't have that time.

Not to mention becoming consumed in IRL socialization commonly leads to alcohol and drug abuse. I also commonly hear that underage internet users are at a high risk of being victimized by sexual predators. If you pay attention to actual sex crime statistics instead of what Oprah says, you'd be more worried about those around your child IRL than online.

 

[22sa]

Why should I buy local when I can get better offers elsewhere?

 

[Trap-Eds]

I've heard claims that internet long-distance friendships distract people from forming IRL friendships. I've also heard claims that the internet is beneficial to those who are introverted or with subpar social skills.

What is your opinion on this?

I'm introverted. I have subpar social skills. And yet I find my online life and offline life exactly the same: not very extraordinary. I guess maybe I'm too honest...or dull or something. xDD ...So no, I don't think online relations distract from real life ones. That all depends on the person.

 

[Azonic]

Theres nothing wrong with having a few online and IRL friends at the same time. However an overdependance on online friends is definitely unhealthy.

I still do think that IRL relationships are better than online. I mean you're separated by a screen over there.

 

[Melody]

I think we need to clear something up here.

The Internet and real life are - gasp! - the same thing. The people you speak to here are real people in real life. Yes, I think everyone needs to learn at least somewhat advanced social skills since you won't be in front of a monitor for most of your life (and if you are, then you need to get out more often for the good of your health); but this doesn't make Internet relationships any unhealthier than "real" ones. The only differences between meeting someone on the street and meeting them here is that A. there needs to be a higher level of caution in dealing with people you don't know, and B. those you speak to are potentially hundreds (if not thousands) of miles away. None of this changes the fact that you are speaking to actual human beings who can be just as good and close a friend as anyone else, and good friends are invaluable no matter how you meet them.

I'm sorry if I seem like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but I'm just sick of people getting hung up on this non-existent division between the Internet and real life. I can see where they're coming from considering the Internet has it's own freaking culture, but really... I love my friends no matter what, and how or where I met them doesn't and should never change that. I support them and they support me, and how that's unhealthy in any way is beyond me.

I strongly agree. The Digital Divide is far too vast, and it needs to be drawn closed.

I believe that Internet relationships are vastly better in some cases. People who live in a rural area are especially aided by them, because it widens the frontiers that their minds are on. I find that anyone who avidly browses the web and makes friends online are typically far easier to get along with...they are far more accepting of things that people from that area wouldn't accept as easily. The Internet has the potential to bring us all together, if we use it properly.

 

[Marс]

Well, I do have a lot of friends online, but I much rather socialize with my 'real life' friends.

 

[Chrono]

I think they are healthy since they can fill a sense of being alone when no one else is there for you. I mean, who doesn't want to make more friends? But if it's the only human interaction you have it might become a problem. But I'm sure everyone countlessly interacts with someone in the real world everyday.

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

Being someone with long-distance relationships that were formed both with meeting people in real life and on the internet, I would say that the internet relationships tend to be less fruitful.

They tend to be more dishonest and cause far more strife, and most of my relationships I made online are either meh or just downright awful. I have a select few who I've met on the internet who I would label as a "friend" so I can't say that they're "bad" or "wrong", but they definitely are more likely to be rocky.

The thing is, even though people on the internet are real people, you never really get to know who they are besides what they show you. You don't really learn every facet of them like you would with someone in real life. The people on the internet always seem better than the ones in real life and that's because the people in real life have flaws that you have to deal with, while the people on the internet can hide those flaws far more effectively.

 

[ANARCHit3cht]

Not to mention becoming consumed in IRL socialization commonly leads to alcohol and drug abuse. I also commonly hear that underage internet users are at a high risk of being victimized by sexual predators. If you pay attention to actual sex crime statistics instead of what Oprah says, you'd be more worried about those around your child IRL than online.

The pedophile threats aren't really a threat if you teach your child how to operate on the internet. Like, don't give out your phone number, address, meet anyone etc...

To the above poster:


I agree with what you have to say. I've had a few online friends that weeks after we started talking admit something bad about themselves. On the other hand, I've one's who have told me things that they've claimed to tell no one. Now, I can't say for sure if it is true, or how many people they have told, but it sounds extremely reasonable.

Online people and offline people are just as devious as one another, except that online people have a cloak to hide behind.

 

[dragoniteuser]

Sure they are. Of course, you can't consider them as real friendships, since you don't acctually see them, so you can't communicate the old fashion way, but you can definetly have a good person you like to talk(type) to!

 

[poopnoodle]

Sure they are. Of course, you can't consider them as real friendships, since you don't acctually see them, so you can't communicate the old fashion way, but you can definetly have a good person you like to talk(type) to!

true friendships don't have to be tangible. it's hard to define "healthy" here- i think how you're communicating with someone is a very insignificant factor, that it's the relationship itself- the qualities per individual and the way a pair harmonizes with those qualities- that effects one's state.

 

[Shadow Ball]

Friends are friends, IRL or Online. Both sides can be healthy or unhealthy. My best friend started out as someone who I met online. We got to know each other and after a few years I finally went to meet her. I still talk to her 99.9% of the time online, but I'm actually going to meet her again in less than a month. To tell you the truth, my IRL relationships have been more dangerous because when you can actually physically be with someone there is much more potential to do harmful things. I have a close-knit group of IRL friends that I would never trade in for the world, though.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

I currently have both kinds of friends, and I do have to say that I've had more online friends betray me than IRL friends, and that I've made more enemies online than IRL as well. On the flip side, I do have some very strong bonds with a few of my online friends, and some of them are former IRL friends who I no longer live near. I still value the tangible asset of being able to meet with IRL friends face to face as well.

Personally, both types of relationships have been important to me, but at the same time, I've noticed how that mask of anonymity that comes with the online medium causes some to become more bold about hurting others emotionally, and for concealing their true intentions.

 

[Pokestick good times.]

I don't really look at them differently. Well, most of my internet friends don't know my "IRL" friends and vice versa, but in some cases I think I could be equally close to them. Bringing up "healthy", I'd say it's not really "unhealthy" in any way, and all kinds of friendships feel "healthy" to me, unless you're in a fight.

 

[Aurafire]

They can become unhealthy if you spend all your time online and neglect your RL responsibilities, but in general I think it's great to have friends on the internet. I probably wouldn't be on PC if not for the friends I've made here :]

 

[InappropriateGoat]

I don't agree that they're unhealthy. I have many.
As long as you aren't talking to random people, and straight away giving them loads of personal info, what's the problem?
It's not as though you're replacing IRL friends, just as you aren't when you make any sort of new friend.
Anyways, it's easier to find friends with similar interests online - IRL, if you don't get along with people who live locally, you're not going to have many friends to talk to, unless you make some friends on forums or whatever :P

 

[Yamikarasu]

I don't really talk to people online that I don't know well in real life. Obviously, I go on forums fairly often and occasionally even chatrooms, but I have never met anyone there I would consider a good friend. I have, however, had really good friends that I knew in real life, who went to my school, but who I mostly talked to online.

I think it has always been important to have a variety of friends. That used to mean friends from different social groups, like having friends on a sports team and friends in a club, but now that could mean having both online friends and 'IRL' friends. So yeah, as long as your online friends aren't your only friends, it's perfectly healthy.

 

[HeidiMoose]

I've had few close internet friendships in my life, but I find that I was able to tell them anything and generally felt more comfortable conversing with them than my friends in real life. Sadly, though, I've lost touch with those few people and if I do have conversations with them now it's rather awkward. Of course, I suppose that's what being too busy for the internet during high school does to a person... Now I'm old and I work full time and have bills to pay so I have less time to build friendships at all.. Meh.

Overall, I don't think they effect IRL relationships. I've always been close with my good IRL friends regardless.

 

[GlalieX]

For the most part, I would think internet friendships to be just as healthy as in-person friendships, given that the friends weren't participating in lewd activity. (Well, if they were of conflicting ages. Non-conflicting ages isn't my business.