I have made
a couple of friendships that existed exclusively in cyberspace. I have also met
some of the friends I originally made online in person when they were close to
me geographically. I still keep in touch from time to time with one that is
located in Australia whom I first starting talking to over 10 years ago. There
are advantages and disadvantages to pursuing these types of cyberspace relationships.
They do differ from face to face relationships in that they can be a very one
dimensional perception of a person’s personality. There is also the fact that realities
in cyberspace can differ extremely from everyday life. The larger cyberspace
community does allow for a larger demographic to find others that share your
interests. The biggest difference I have found between cyberspace and local
friendships is that those that I have made in cyberspace can exist solely in
cyberspace if I so choose. When I don’t feel like plugging in that part of
reality I don’t have any real obligation to do so. Longer gaps between talking
and catching up seem to be more accepted in the online reality. The same is not
so true of face to face friendships since they exist with our everyday
realities I have more of an obligation to be present. I don’t see it as a
disadvantage however because many times it’s that obligation to stay present that
creates some of the stronger bonds of close friendships. That’s not to say that
close friendships do not exist solely in cyberspace just that they can be more
difficult to cultivate.
I also think that f2f friends for me personally are closer than the cyberspace friendships. I talk with my f2f friends more often, and I choose when to communicate with the people who I don't get to see.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to make any cyberfriends and I am not at all sure that I ever will. The distance aspect is part of what I find a bit confounding about these types of relationships. I mean if you have never even seen a person etc, how strong can the bonds of friendship truly be? On the other hand, after reading your comments about larger demographics coming together, I can see how casual relationships could be formed. For instance, if someone has a keen interest in model trains, but can not find anyone local that shares the same interest, this might be a situation that lends itself perfectly to creating a cyber-relationship.
ReplyDeleteHow was it when you guys finally met? Was it the same as it was online or were you both totally different? Because I feel like you can't really perceive yourself online for who you really are. There are just some things missing I feel. I have met someone and talked with them for a while however I did not meet them ever in person, due to the fact of me thinking about how different it may be. Although I have never really thought about how strong the bond could really be between the two people online. I think it also falls into the concept of the differences of real life and cyberspace.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time the people I have met were pretty much the same as they were online. However, before I met anyone we would have video chatted so we already had an idea of what the other person was like. I guess I could have also pointed out that my husband and I met online quite a few years ago. We developed a good friendship and spoke a alot on the phone before deciding to meet. He was living in Southern California at the time and I was up here. He drove up here and a friendship turned into a relationship. As they say, the rest is history. If it had not of been for the ability to chat with others online we would probably have never met and I would have missed out on the best part of my life. In my humble opinion Cyberspace is as "real life" as you choose to make it.
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