Making Friends Online: Risky or Rewarding?

[AGFire2013]

I'd say it can be both very rewarding and risky. Luckily for me, I have close friends online and offline, so it's easy for me to compare and analyse this stuff. /rant start

The risk is that online, you don't have a face. You can pose, be or look like anyone you want. Your best friend could be a predator in disguise, trying to lure you into some kind of danger. All those online safety courses and leaflets do have a point - online 'friends' can be dangerous, and some might be something completely different to what or who you think they are. For especially vulnerable people, it's easy to manipulate and twist you so that you think they're the good person, only to find out that they're not and they've just ruined your life. The results can be devastating and life changing.

But if you do find true friends, it's incredibly rewarding. With appearance taken away, these people mostly understand you based on your purest self - your personality. Online friends, if you choose not to reveal your face, have to talk and get to know you based solely on your personality and yourself.
You can easily become friends with people with more confidence in yourself (if you're a person who's very self-conscious with their appearance) without having to worry about looking good or getting rid of pimples or whatever. You just hop on and let yourself take over.

Being someone with a lot of close friends online, I am perfectly happy to see people interacting this way. But you need to be careful. Some people out there aren't friends and will scar you for life. So make sure you know that they're trustworthy and don't give them any type of identification, personal information or images until you absolutely know that they're not a predator and someone that you could easily meet IRL and just hang out with.

 

[boboy1999]

Your best friend could be a predator in disguise, trying to lure you into some kind of danger.

 

[Tenebrous]

L

LMAO

 

[powdski]

When I first started to talk with someone I was really shy, and would turn red. But now even a random person I talk to I'm not shy.

 

[BenarooDaGamerHD]

Something that the experience of talking to people online is that I don't have to be nervous when I talk to people. I was somewhat shy, albeit talkative, and I didn't really communicate well with others. Then I made some friends on mcsg, and because I knew I wasn't ever going to see them in real life unless I chose to, I could really just be myself. Now, regardless of who I talk to, whether it be one of the popular people at my school (I am somewhat popular at my school so that helps) or a girl or something, I am confident when speaking because I know that I have met people who were random strangers that I have had good experiences with, and I treat the situation as if I am meeting them via the internet, where they are a nameless faceless person who I really get to know by their personality.

So overall, I would very much say that online friendships can be rewarding, especially because they probably have the same interests as me because of where I met them.

(Worded weird and kind of long and rambly so yeah, sorry)

 

[croe97]

I would definitely say it's good! I mean, having all online relationships might not be the best. Although, it's so good having someone who you can tell anything to. ^.^

 

[Vanicle | Vanessa]

My best friends are my online friends and I wouldn't trade them for the world! My sister had a very similar situation with one of her best online friends where she said something on Skype that made her friend upset. They became friends again in the future so I hope you and your friend can work something out and do the same