Internet friends / loves

[stylinsam]

hi just a quickie do u think its possible to be friends with somebody although you have never met this person i feel as if i no you all as if you were my normal friends! i Feel i have to seperate lives one here when im at work chatting to you guys and my cyber mates whiskeysheri, loobie, loopyc,pinkfizz and boo on msn!
and then a different live when i go home to my boyfriend and family ! does anyone else feel like this or is it just me??

[kazza12345]

yes i think it is possible certainly. I go to some other forums where i have my "cyber buddies" At work i might want to relay something funny someone has said but sometimes feel awkward about having friends that aren't "real" as such!

if my friends and family knew i spent time talking to people on there and here, they might think i was bonkers, but they feel like real friendships to me ... i guess we just have to redefine "friendship" for the 21st century!

btw, does anyone else think that the reason internet friendships spring up so easily is because there is no chance of you actually meeting them?

[Champagne]

Of course you can be friends without ever meeting. That's where the term 'penpal' came from, although these days it's in the cyber world!

I've made quite a few friends from this site. When I had messenger at work I used to be in touch with quite a few people but now I don't get the opportunity to chat 'live'. :o(

[mycats]

Yes, I would say Pixi was my best mate and we havent met up yet. Saying that we do talk or e-mail practically everyday and have done for AGES! :-)

[laurence2]

Yes i believe you can be friends via the internet.

But i also believe that you can make enemies also

It would be interesting if everyone met in person, i reckon their would be kisses/ Group hugs and punch ups all at the same time?

[aka pixi]

As cat just said we have never met (though hopefully we are gonna do in a few weeks) and she is my bestest friend in the world. We talk on msn and email for hours at a time. If we arent online we sometimes text and phone each other. Jeez sometimes I just cant get away from her roflmao ;)

[aka pixi]

laurence thats one of the truest things i ever read lmao

[mycats]

Can I take back my last reply please?
"sometimes I cant get away from her"??? Is that right missy??
*storms off in a huff*
*storms back cause she has nowhere else to go*

[unruliejulie]

i think so definately. Like it has been mentioned, penpals are the same thing. You just seem to click with some people. You don't have to physically meet someone to like who they are.

[Booldawg]

I think most people adopt an online persona and are totally different in 'real life'.

[aka pixi]

sniggers at cat

oohhh theres no escaping me either lol

[fee-is-me]

Yes, Sam. I feel the same. It is a bit like having 'different' lives.

But i don't think i am particularly different, Booldawg.

I'm afraid that what you see is what you get - on or offline... it's just 'me'.

I am rather choosy about who i chat to (not in a snobby way - but because of time restrictions) and i suppose i am the same in real life. I don't have time to think about swapping persona... either that or i am just too thick to do so!

[whiffey]

Coming on to a site like this is like entering a different world, almost a little fairyland.

I have made a number of what I like to feel are close friends, even though we've never met.

I don't go along with the enemies idea, although certain other nationalities on certain other sites can be unbelievably nasty with their words !!

[Supernick]

I guess I'm slightly different here. I'm quite sarcastic in real life, and that doesn't translate well in writing, so I find that I'm a lot more earnest.

[loopyc]

yes i feel i have made lots of friends, including you sweetie! i am the same on line as i am with my other freinds.

[stylinsam]

im the same as i am in real life as i am on here im just me!! and im a loopy nutter! haha

[Booldawg]

I'm much taller in real life than I am on the internet

[LazyGun]

I think the anonimity of internet chat lends itself to often deeply personal information sharing, and I have been amazed at the information people will impart to what amounts to a total stranger... something I am sure they would never do in a face to face encounter.

It is that level of intimacy which creates often quite rapid and deep friendships via the internet.

Of course that same anonimity lends itself to people pretending to be other than what they are...so you do have to retain a degree of scepticism when you first start chatting.

I have met 2 of my all time favourite people via the internet.

[raysparx]

Hi sam,

hope you are well,

I feel an affinity with some people on here,and I like them or rather I like the way they come across on here,there are others I have taken a dislike to,which might seem unfair,but I just don't like what some people say or the way they say it,

I wouldn't say anything on here that I would not say face to face,cos that is me, and people either like me for what I am,wether it be on here or in my life,I am Honest and Loyal and I will give a straight answer, I also enjoy the banter on here,and some of the wind ups,some are just a bit uptight,

Take care, Ray xx

[Imp y Celyn]

i don't have any friends. even cyber ones.

[kick3m0n]

hi Sam (how are you today babes? See Gevs behaved himself after you left lol)
I definitely think of a few folk on AB as my friends. One or two are slightly different in real life as opposed to AB, tho I'm told I'm not, but they are lovely folk anyway. I can have a good laugh with AB friends (whether just on AB or by txt, phone, mail etc) and we have shared humour, or other interests. Infact they are similar to the people I am attracted to as friends in real life. I'd miss these AB pals if I lost them from my life, and I guess that's the key to whether I think of them as friends or not.