What is an internet friend? To people with no knowledge of the world that is the internet, it is simply someone your child or sister met online. They’re not real, right? Just an anonymous account interacting with your child while they browse twitter. The stranger will go away just like every trend that pops up in the twenty first century.
That’s where you’re wrong.
The internet can be a scary place full of pedophiles looking for a child to kidnap, or at least that’s what I was taught when I was growing up. “Don’t talk to strangers online!” My parent’s pounded that phrase into my head like it belonged there till the day I die. I guess it’s a good thing I ended up not listening to them because online I met a group of girls who saved my life. They have been in my life longer than most friends I made in my neighborhood, and I couldn't be more thankful for having them enter my life. They're the sweetest people with the biggest hearts. Here are some of the perks to having internet friends.
THEY'RE COMPLETELY NEUTRAL
If there was anything I hated most about high school it was that everyone seemed to know everyone. You couldn't meet one person without them having a prearranged idea of who you are. They heard from a friend that you did this thing and so they don't like you and blah blah blah. It almost felt like people knew you before they got to know you.
That is what is so great about online friends. When they talk to you for the first time, it is with a completely unbiased opinion of you. They didn't hear nasty stories about you from a friends or judge you for that embarrassing moment back in the sixth grade. It's like a clean slate. They get to know you for who you are and not who other people make you out to be.
YOU ALREADY HAVE A COMMON INTEREST
Ice breakers in class are always so awkward because you're like shit, what fact can I spit out to seem interesting to these people? You could talk about how you're double jointed and maybe bond over someone with that, but that conversation can only go so far. With everyone feeling the pressure of needing to find someone with a common interest or habit it becomes difficult to genuinely bond with someone over something.
Online it's so simple to find someone who enjoys something similar to you. I met one of my best friends on the internet because I posted a picture of Michael Clifford from 5 Seconds of Summer and she direct messaged me saying "Michael Clifford is so hot!" We've been best friends for over a year now because of that simple comment.
People hide behind a screen when expressing what they love because it almost seems safer. No one can come attack you for saying you like something when you're alone in your room. This let's people talk about music or art or whatever freely, thus opening the floor for anyone who loves those things. All of my internet friendships were built off of our love for music. From there, we found other things in common and talked every day like in person friendships. The internet just gave us that chance to find the spark to begin the flame of friendship.
A GREAT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY
I feel like this is such an over-looked aspect of internet friendships. Sure you guys get to fangirl together over bands and talk shit about the girl who bullied you in class, but you can also talk about your varying cultures! One of my best friends, Niamh, lives in Ireland, and the amount of things I have learned from her about the Irish culture is endless. It gives us an unlimited supply of things to talk about. One time we spent two hours just talking about how different our school systems were. I found it fascinating just how different her lifestyle was "across the pond." When drooling over hot band members, you don't really think about how your outside environment can be so vastly different from each other's.
Internet friends don't even have to be across the world to offer up new knowledge. This summer I got to visit my internet friend Sarah in Michigan which is only about 8 hours away, and yet it seemed like I was in a completely different world. Walking in her shoes gave me a whole new perspective on things because the town she lives in is immensely different than mine. I grew up with giant movie theaters showing 10 movies a night and selling heavily overpriced snacks. Sarah took me to see a movie at her theatre, and there was only one screen which showed the same movie twice a day for a couple weeks. The snacks were also a third of the price and twice as good. Malls and brand name stores are 40-60 minutes away from her house whereas I could access a Starbucks around every corner where I'm from.
The internet isn't this big scary place that our parents made it out to be. You still need to be careful when talking to strangers online, and definitely never meet them in person unless you have a parent with you or you know for a fact you are not being "catfished." However we have been blessed with the technology that gives us a chance to connect with people from all over the world. The opportunities for unity and knowledge are endless. For three years now, I have made friends online who help me with everyday problems and teach me that there is more out in the world. My life would be entirely different if I didn't have these amazing influences from all over the world.
