Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

[Wayward Vagabond]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

In my case, many of the people I used to chat with online have stopped talking to me either completely or only say a few words every few months after about one-two years. However, my friends who I met in person still call and meet me once in awhile even though we don't attend the same college.

I think relationships made in person are much stronger and have the potential of lasting longer because you build a physical, emotional, and social connection, whereas internet relationships aren't as intimate and don't depend on compromise or understanding.

I feel like you can have just as intimate, emotional, and physical relationships with friends online if you put the effort into it the same way youd have to put the effort into an irl friendship. some of my closest friends are friends that i met online.

[drizzleRomanceGirl]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

One thing I forgot to mention is that even though friendships created in person are generally more intimate, I believe they take a lot more work to maintain, especially when you're having a hard time dealing with issues in your life or have less free time.

[Wayward Vagabond]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

i can agree with that

[master q60]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

Considering I used to be anti-social as all hell, internet friends actually helped me be more open about my life as we don't actually know each other. I now have 4 internet friends, met through left 4 dead, and have everyones number, Facebook, etc. The nice thing is that no one knows ANYTHING about their family, just them, but yet you can still talk about personal things since it will be just about them and not their sister doing some stupid bullshit.

Other downside though, is that I am the only one who upgraded to an Xbox One so if they want to play, I have to switch consoles. The worst is that I have literally gone through about 6 friend groups within Left 4 Dead, all of which have long been gone. Only these four are the ones I can still play with and not remember what stupid ass drama they brought to the group from dating within the group, to being found out to be a total asshole from extended gameplay with them.

Internet friends are to talk about you and them, IRL friends are for everything else

[Funnygurl555]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

I've known 4 people on the internet longer than anyone irl. Funny is one of them. #Proof #FunnyIsGril

hoooooly crap this is going into my sig lmao the hashtags

Okay but for a serious answer to this-- I kinda agree with a point stated in this thread: you stay friends with people in general as long as you maintain some common ground with them. With IRL friends proximity is a major factor. With the Internet it's the activities you do together and the methods of communication used.

Unless you develop a really close bond with someone, you and your friends are going to change to the point that the common ground is diminished. That's why most friendships are transient, and only very close friendships-- both online and real life-- are the ones that stay with you.

Personal anecdote time-- I don't really talk to anyone from where I grew up anymore, and most people that I've met online in my five-ish(?) years on the Internet have moved on already. I guess I kinda got used to this so I'm not bothered by it anymore. There's always new people to meet \o

[Kawaii025]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

In my opinion, the answer to this question would depend on the person and their situation.

I have people that I've met online and IRL that have drifted away because of life's circumstances. I also have one person I've met IRL and one person I met online that I consider my best friend and we still are to this day.

[MrGiggles]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

i have almost certainly known people on this site longer than any friends in real life.

i wouldn't say that anyone here became a close friend, however. just super long term acquaintances, really.

I don't think I'm a typical case here, though. I have literally zero interest in maintaining relationships with people I don't see constantly, so all my high school friends exist only in my facebook feed at this point. My college friends might last longer, as we've set up a chatroom that we idle in constantly, but I think a few years will see me drifting away from that as well.

[Kraezymann]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

I've never been one to try and make friends online because I've always felt I'd have to satisfy someone's funny bone or keep up with intelligent responses to maintain them or even make a friend. I want to make a good first impression but I'm always worried I'll fuck it up and they would decide I'm not worth talking too.

That being said, at what point does someone become a friend? What makes a friend in real life your friend, as compared to the Internet?

Also, good luck with the move. Hope it works out!

[choof]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

I'm a meme and, as such, have no friends on the internet

[Nyokou]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

I think it depends on the person. There are some old friends from IRL and the internet that I've tried reconnecting with but they've changed so much and their lives taken a different direction so it's weird to try and find common ground again. Then there are others from both IRL and the internet who are still the same, cool people you've always known (or hell, in some instances become even more awesome in some ways) that it's easy to reconnect with them.

[SC_coolguy44]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

I had some really close friends in college, but we rarely talk anymore because everyone split after college. I still talk to a few people I knew from college over facebook -- but there's only a handful of those. People from high school are long gone.

Yet, I still talk to some people from this forum on facebook and I have since I was 13, before facebook existed. I'd imagine that I'll continue to talk to those people indefinitely, since wherever I move in the world won't be a boundary.

I'm personally about to make a big move across the country. I don't know how long I'll be there. Five years? Maybe longer, depending?

And if I move, the friends I had there due to geographic proximity are gone too.

Now that I've had pretty much all my friends split from me (either by my own doing or by theirs) about 4-5 times in my life, I rarely feel that friendship is a permanent thing. In a weird way, the people I talk to from the internet are the few people who I can say I won't ever stop knowing.

Does anyone else feel this way? Or if you feel opposite, why?

I feel kind of like this where I only really contact some of my college and high school friends that I was really close to over facebook. I also have friends where we want to make plans with each other but the plans keep falling through. I also have friends who I am very close with that I hang out with every weekend and also see them on weekdays too. I am also pretty close with my online friends.

[gold stinger]

Re: Are internet friends more permanent than friends by proximity?

Yes, internet friends are more permanent than friends by proximity, but are never truly permanent. Friends based on proximity usually lasts shorter than proximity by internet because moving & finding a new place to live is a common thing in life. Friends based on internet depends on your proximity with internet. As we grow more and more connected to internet, the less we are connected by real life meetups.