Ten years ago, there were posters on every wall in every school around the country that warned kids to never give out personal information on the internet. Given this was the time of MySpace and catfishing before it was officially “catfishing,” parents and teachers alike made it a point to discuss internet safety at least once during the school year. Now, it’s 2016, and sharing a large amount of personal information on the internet has become not only a commonplace, but an expectation. A major life moment? Make a Facebook album. A minor inconvenience? Tweet about it and maybe someone will laugh at it with you. The feeling of connectedness with others on the internet is not something new; people have been instant messaging their friends since the beginning of the internet. But the ability to freely express opinions on the internet whenever one pleases, and knowing that others will care about it, has created something that could literally have never been possible 30 years ago: internet friendships.

I basically grew up on the internet, (Twitter specifically) and have made many friendships because of similar interests, whether that be TV shows, movies, or, usually, similar music tastes. Although I’ve never met the majority of these people in real life, I interact with them on a daily basis and there is real emotion behind our conversations and exchanges. I don’t have enough time, or words, to describe all of the friendships I’ve made over the years; but all of them have meant a great deal to me and have challenged me to view the world from a different perspective than I had before deciding to join Twitter in 2012. Some of my friends are from all over the world, and learning and hearing stories about their daily lives is so interesting because it’s sometimes hard to think about how different other people’s lives are from yours. Although some of my friends live extremely far away, sometimes I’ll become friends with someone and find out that they live on bordering states, and that some are even just a few hours away.

The coolest thing about online friendships though, is that they easily transcend the internet— I know this from experience. When I was a sophomore in high school, I followed basically anyone on Twitter who liked similar music as I did because I was desperate to talk about music constantly and wanted to make friends who shared similar taste with me. I met one of my friends, Gabby Duhon, because of this desire to tweet about alt-rock at all hours of the day. The cool thing was that Gabby lived around Houston as well. So, if we ever wanted to hang out or anything, it wouldn’t be physically impossible. The spring of my sophomore year, The Black Keys announced a tour and I excitedly bought pre-sale tickets. Fast forward almost a year later, Gabby and I were at the barricade standing next to each other. After the concert, we only stayed friends via Twitter, but at least I knew I was friends with a real person!

About six months ago when I was officially accepted into college, I went to share how excited I was on Twitter (yay, adulthood!!!). A few minutes after I posted it, I got a reply from Gabby with tons of exclamation points that said, “That’s where I’m going too!” And here we are today, two college freshmen, taking on the fun times and the not so fun times of young-adult life, together.

Gabby is one of the funniest, most kind-hearted, and caring people I have ever met, and we may not have even known each other if it wasn’t for the internet! Sure, we might’ve still ended up going to the same college, but we wouldn’t have each other to get five coffee drinks a day with.

I realize how this is probably some weird coincidence, and that fate just really wanted us to be friends in real life too, but that doesn’t mean other internet friendships don’t have similar emotional meaning just because it stays strictly online. When deciding to write this article, I took to Twitter (a website that writing this made me realize how much I owe to it) to ask some of my other friends how internet friendships have changed them as a person. Here are a few things they said:

“Having friendships on the internet have changed me because it helps me become more outgoing in the real world. I have become more interested in discussing social issues in the world by seeing what my internet friends believe in.” Kayla Fernandez, 16

“A lot of things I love and that define me now were culminated through my online friendships! Also, when my dad died I had an outpouring of love and kindness from my friends online. In real life, it felt much more awkward to talk about my feelings in depth. Online friends helped me live through my dad's death, and gave me encouragement and love and space to talk about things I needed to in a pace that I felt comfortable.” Anna Belle Robertson, 19

“I first started making internet friendships when I was in junior high school and dealing with all the awkwardness that came with it. Internet friendships gave me a place to talk about my feelings when I didn't have anybody in person that I felt like wanted to listen. Also, forming internet friendships gave me the confidence to confront problems in person. When I complained about a problem online and people told me yes, I have a reason to be upset, it made it easier to talk to the people that were hurting me because I knew there was an actual problem and not just me overreacting.” Maggie Ryan, 17

“Friendships on the internet have changed me greatly as a person through the fact that they help me communicate with people without having to worry about my social anxiety getting in the way, as I don't have to reply instantly and this helps me feel more confident in my friendships.” Flo Cardon, 19

No matter where people lived, the internet brought them together and helped them grow. More than three-fourths of my friends that I interviewed told me that the friendships they made online not only made them become more open-minded, but also helped them become more tolerant of other’s views both online and in the real world. Every single person said that their friendships expanded their interests and led them to falling in love with something they wouldn’t have paid attention to otherwise. Some told me that they turned to the internet when their social anxiety or depression made it hard to interact in real life, and they were so grateful for the love and support of their friends online. I also asked my friends if they believed internet friendships were as important as those in real-life, and here’s what they had to say:

“Internet friendships are just as important as real friendships if not I feel like they might be a little bit better! As far as online friendships being better, I really like having someone to talk to despite being far away because it allows me to appreciate the time we do get to spend with each other more. A lot of the times with real friendships I tend to get annoyed with some people just because I see them so often.” Amanda Casarez, 19

“I think they are as important. I only have a few IRL (in real life) friends who I feel as close to as some of my internet friends. There are some differences, but I think ultimately it’s still human connection so just because you can’t physically touch them, which you can’t even always do with friendships in real life, it doesn’t take anything away! I used to feel insecure about it but as I said my internet friends have meant the world to me and have helped me through so much.” Kaila Williams, 21

“I would say that internet friendships weigh the same as real life friendships because you truly get to know someone just by talking to them, without focusing on things such as looks or vanity to change how you feel about them.” Gabby Duhon, 18

The responses I got were overwhelmingly positive. No matter age difference or physical distance, everyone was just a few clicks away from talking to online friends that meant as much to them as those they knew in real life. As a college student that doesn’t live physically near any of my close friends now, technology is the only way I have to communicate with them, seeing as carrier pigeon really died out as a form of communication. I don’t see them in real life, yet they’re still my best friends; so why aren’t friendships made on the internet treated the same way?

So, to answer the big question: “Why are internet friendships as important as real life friendships?” Well internet, any friendship that helps people become their best self, that teaches them to become more open-minded, and that makes them feel loved and accepted, seems like an important friendship to me. No matter if it’s a physical hug or an encouraging direct message, love from friends can be shown through any means. If internet friendships can be used to make the world a better place through kindness, then they’re something worth validating.