Are friendships formed via social media/lj/dw, etc real and valid friendships?
I started this on FB, because I'd noticed that I'd lost a "friend" both on LJ and FB. Partially wondering what I could have done or what post had been offensive enough to make someone leave, I thought of the following passage and wanted to expound here since you can't really have meaningful dialog on FB (at least IMHO)
I've been having "deep thoughts" about the whole concept of "Friending/DeFriending" on Social Media and what those ties actually mean in terms of attachments, real versus surface friendships, connections made that live and die online versus adding an online connection to an already established real live friendship. What happens when those surface bonds are severed, is the "cut" just as deep?
Are those folks we know IRL who we connect with on FB then even more connected or is it just another way to be in touch? Are the folks we come across via LJ, FB, DW, Twitter, etc actual friends? Can they be real friends to us if our only link is electronic? Granted I've made friends via City of Heroes/City of Villains, and via LJ and we've become "real" friends. I.E we've met in person somehow or there's a connection that goes beyond the medium of this blog or FB, and so on.
I guess what I'm meandering towards is wondering how tangible and "real" friendships forged online and via social media really are. Is/can there be a true friendship and connection when you're only known to each other as an online persona, a username amongst all the others and not much else. Have we lost the ability to really connect and do these friendships formed online last? And if those bonds are severed, is it even right to feel a loss over someone you knew only via an electronic medium?
I've been having "deep thoughts" about the whole concept of "Friending/DeFriending" on Social Media and what those ties actually mean in terms of attachments, real versus surface friendships, connections made that live and die online versus adding an online connection to an already established real live friendship. What happens when those surface bonds are severed, is the "cut" just as deep?
Are those folks we know IRL who we connect with on FB then even more connected or is it just another way to be in touch? Are the folks we come across via LJ, FB, DW, Twitter, etc actual friends? Can they be real friends to us if our only link is electronic? Granted I've made friends via City of Heroes/City of Villains, and via LJ and we've become "real" friends. I.E we've met in person somehow or there's a connection that goes beyond the medium of this blog or FB, and so on.
I guess what I'm meandering towards is wondering how tangible and "real" friendships forged online and via social media really are. Is/can there be a true friendship and connection when you're only known to each other as an online persona, a username amongst all the others and not much else. Have we lost the ability to really connect and do these friendships formed online last? And if those bonds are severed, is it even right to feel a loss over someone you knew only via an electronic medium?