|
|
#21 |
|
CHOCK FULL O' NUTRIENTS
|
It's fairly simple:
While the modern definition of 'friend' includes affection and personal regard, it's very easy to apply these terms to people you've met over the internet. They're real people living real lives, and the idea that they still dedicate time to you (and vice versa) is often times better than friends who are always there for you - you know their lives. The people over the internet, you may not know every little detail, but you still provide each other with mutual time. I measure friendships in an odd way. Not just if I have fun with someone, but how much I can get them to confide in me. How well someone trusts me is a huge indicator of how I'm friends with them, and I hope it's the same vice-versa, although I'm a fairly open book when it comes to many, if not all things. One of the first things I got rid of as an actor were my shames. My dirty laundry became public so that no one could find out and use it against me, and I try to keep my personal life as public as possible when it comes to my friends. Without complete trust, I really think you have nothing. Is it possible to trust someone over the internet? Surely. You can trust them with all kinds of information, and what would it matter if they told someone else? It wouldn't. Anyways, I've rambled quite a bit and made no real point. Ta!
__________________
"A new take on the epic fantasy genre... Darkly comic, relatable characters... twisted storyline." "Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor My new novel: Maledictions: The Offering. Now in Paperback! |
|
|
|
|
|
#22 |
|
FFR Player
|
I don't see why you can't be friends with someone on the internet - but at the same time, I would be better friends with people I know irl. Personality is a lot in a friendship and trying to convey that through words is difficult. A lot of the time it's not what you say, but how you say it and what your body language and tone are at that time. In addition, it's hard to tell if people are lying on the internet; if they know they will never meet you, then what are the chances of them being caught in a lie?
I'm not saying you can't find a great friend online, but most of the people I chat with I've met before. Email is the best way for me to talk to my friends from Germany because of the time difference, but I still met them beforehand. I guess I'm old fashioned lol.
__________________
"If you want to sex me you have to be good at math!" - Group X "I recoil with dismay and horror at this lamentable plague of functions which do not have derivatives." - Charles Hermite |
|
|
|
|
|
#23 |
|
FFR Player
|
Mal, that's a good point that I hadn't really pinned down before. I remember years ago, I was talking about some personal things that I had never really talked about before to my best friend, late at night. She made a comment about how it made her happy that I trusted her enough to talk about those things. I don't remember quite what I was so embarrassed about at the time, but I still clearly remember that one moment. It was kind of an eye opener to me about what is truly important in friendship, and I feel the same now when someone confides something important to them in me.
Insomniac, sometimes when people become really good online friends, they do meet in real life at some point (omgstalkermurderer). Maybe I'm too trusting, but I expect that people are telling the truth until they give me reason to believe otherwise. Also, when you've known them for a really long time, it's unlikely to be an elaborately kept fake life. I have some friends across the country who are really close, and even we are planning to meet, despite the distance, as soon as we can (which still probably won't be for a year or more..). I think it's also neat to be able to have friends all over the place, rather than being confined to your local area. It gives you a much greater perspective on the world.
__________________
♪~ Always Happy! Smile! Hello! I like delicious things I shoot eye beams at the things I hate and make them explode! (Yay!) So Happy! Smile! Hello! It's a picnic every day There's lots of happiness in my pocket So let's play forever~ |
|
|
|
|
|
#24 |
|
FFR Player
|
I highly think internet friends can be as close, or even closer, than some of your real life friends. I say this because when I was a little kid, I had a best friend over an online game. We used to ALWAYS chat. After school, during school, and even call each other! We even met in real life after a while.
Even though stuff like that is stupid and risky, friends over the internet can be people just like you. Not all people lie over the internet, which just provides a stronger friendship. Having friends worldwide is also a bigger experience for you, especially while you're young. You may not know anything about other places, and this friend could inform you. |
|
|
|
|
|
#25 |
|
FFR Player
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 40
|
There tends to often be alot of subtleties that the mind overcompensates for when interacting online. One previously mentioned was the tone of each sentence written, but more importantly I think things like physical attractiveness are left to the minds imagination, which can be completely distorted.
For example, the majority of females who play FFR and talk on the forums are going to be thought of positively in the majority of the minds of the FFR community, especially taking into consideration the large concentration of (teenage) males. An individual is always going to be judged no matter what medium they communicate through, and over a text based system like this many of the judgements made are going to be based off of imagination (and perhaps filled in at a later date, through any other form of communication). The plus to this is that such judgements made are generally less important, since one's physical attractiveness has little to do with communicating over the web. |
|
|
|
|
|
#26 |
|
FFR Player
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 551
|
Online friends are great to have. In real life people are more secretive and hidden. Online you can find all kinds of friends and people just like you. Such as other transexuals and homosexuals and confused people. In real life, no one wants to talk about those kind of things. Online you have a kind of open security with your friends.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#27 | |||
|
Very Grave Indeed
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I've played a lot of online games, including ones primarily based internationally. I've met a lot of people, some are acquaintences, some are friends, some know more about my life than all but the best of my IRL friends. I've met several in real life after meeting them online, and am planning to do so this summer as well. I've ended up liking people more in person, liking them less in person, and in a few cases, ended up in a more serious relationship after meeting them in person. I mean...the advantage to online friends is that by the time you decide you'd like to meet in person, you've gotten all of the basic information completely out of the way. You know the person's personality, their likes and dislikes, the kind of person they are. At that point, provided they haven't been lying utterly to you (And when you've been friends with someone for say...two years, one hopes they've either been honest with you, or decided to come clean about the ways they weren't before that) the only thing you really need to get to know about them is whether they have some idiosyncrasies that really grate on you. |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
#28 |
|
FFR Player
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 40
|
Dev, I was just using asthetics as my example, all the other "idiosyncrasies" that grate an individiual (on or offline) are just more examples to speak to my idea. I would consider things like exchanging pictures communicating through a different medium in which, as stated previously, the mind no longer need to use its imagination to fill in the gaps.
See, people in general are going to automatically generate a positive opinion to someone whos attractive, hence the bias with physical conversation. In an online scenario however all that is needed is to be a member of the opposite sex for the mind (and hormones...being a teen plays in here) to do its part. One doesnt actually need to be physically attractive as long as they convey a positive stimulus to the individual. I always relate this to Gatsby (the great) and how he spent his life idolizing Daisy, just to find out she wasnt much of a catch (this is the converse of my point though). In regard to meeting someone in person, after knowing them online...the basics are going to change. Both individuals are going to act (if only slightly) differently to their online selves. The basis of "friendship" is altered, and the criteria that is required to meet the definition of this word will be changed as well. This is obviously why, as stated in your response, your experiences with them are different. I know youre talking about long term relationships with friends in this instance, and im sure one would be able to draw a more precise idea of someone with time. In this sense the fluctuation of character will likely be to a lesser extent. |
|
|
|
|
|
#29 |
|
FFR Player
|
I answer the initial question with a resounding yes. Online friendships can develop in much the same way "IRL" friendships can. In a way, online friendships have a distinct advantage over "IRL" friendships: namely, that serious conversation becomes the root of the friendship, rather than joint activities in various social spheres. Online friends need not share common friends or common favorite activities for the friendship to thrive.
This being said, of course "IRL" friendships also have some serious advantages over online friendships. The ability to physically interact with the person and experience them in person is invaluable. Also, I wouldn't recommend online marriages. =)
__________________
I apologize in advance for anything intelligent I may say. I guarantee you, it wasn't intentional, so don't take it personally. |
|
|
|
![]() |
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
|
|