Online 'Friendships'

Okay so the internet is a magical place, clearly there's a lot more potential for "good" friends, while at the same time still more potential for "bad" friends. Now before I go into explaining my rather descriptive theory of friends, let's get a basic list thing together.

1) Good friends: These are friends that are seriously just friends! There's no better way to explain it then a person who just wants to laugh and joke with you, while still offering you advice and a chance to vent!

2) Bad friends: These are friends who want to use you. They're not talking to you because they like you, but because they're stalking you, trying to get in a relationship with you, or simply trying to get stuff from you!



Now does this mean it's that simple? No. Not at all. It does mean however, that we've got some sort of guideline. And I love those. So now you might ask yourself, well isn't that just like a friendship in person?

It's not, the simple fact is the magical world of the web can offer this haze that our normal senses just can't detect! Basically we're stuck with tunnel vision. We can only see what is put in front of us, and not the broad spectrum of signs that a person could give. Sadly we live in a world where lying is a natural defense, and over the web, it seems an even easier place to fall prey to someone else defending themselves.

Does this mean it's excusable? Of course not, but it also means that it's not necessarily someone's sinister plot to ensnare another. I read in an article at the dentists office the other day, "Most lies are told in an attempt to simply be 'nice' to another person." And yeah, it's true.

Think about the last small fib you told. Was it to purposely hurt someone? Of course not. We don't generally lie with malicious intent. We lie to save ourselves or to spare someones feelings.

So truly if you look at the net objectively. You'll easily find that it's a well of bad in terms of friends, but at the same time. If you keep it purely over the web, you're bound to find that it can be a very good place to find good friends! Sure you can't see them, and perhaps you're restricted to playing video games and chatting on the various messengers with them,

But in the end is there really anything more fun then a 4 am FPS play while totally intoxicated?

And yes fair enough, with a friend actually there it's probably just as fun. But at 4 am. Xbox live can be the only friend you need!