Online friendship and relationships: advantages and precautions
By: Lia Contesso
Submitted: 2011-11-02 04:33:50 | Word Count: 522
Lack of time and the increasing easiness for meeting people on the internet, together with the anonymity the world wide web is able to provide, have made of the web a real communication channel to create relationships and interact with other people.
Before the internet came, pen pals were the only form of long distance friendship, a tradition that was introduced early to kids so that they could meet people from other parts of the world and different social classes. Pen pals had the advantage of being someone outside of one's acquaintances circle, so people could also express themselves with greater sincerity. Today, the trend is that of sharing with as many people as possible, prioritizing interactions with a set of linked friendships (social networks) over one to one exchanges (email, for instance).
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There is, in fact, a place for everyone. From the platforms that use digital media as the only scenario of social exchange like the social network Second Life or online gaming, to those who are a platform to get people in touch with the expectation of an eventual real life interaction. Friendship seekers, couples' ads, study groups and language exchange buddies, there are lots of people who use internet to find what they do not think they will easily find without the help of technology.
Therefore it is now common to find classified online ads written by people who wish to establish a new relationship, who are looking for a partner for life or who just want to find people with their same interests and hobbies.
The online world has become a very valid alternative for many, who claim to have found love through free ad sites, specialized dating social networks and even social platforms like Facebook, not specially designed for this purpose but who has registered an increase of friend requests to individuals outside of people's social graphs with the intention of creating new connections.
The other side of the story is of course that of anonymity, that gives to people the power of becoming someone or something they are not in front of a computer screen, a behaviour that can lead to problems at both ends of the communication exchange.
The innocence of good old pen pals seems to have disappeared as parents now watch with suspect how their children talk with people they have never met in person, at the school or at the park, people of which not much is known except for a name and the pictures shared on the web, which could both be false.
The use of virtual social media is surely a positive alternative for people who do not have the time to make friends the traditional way, or that just feel more comfortable starting a relationship from the safety of their homes. For the little ones in the house, the best strategy is to incentivise relationships far from screens, in front of which they will spend a great part of their time as adults.
