Online Relationships Vs In Real Life Relationships

[Mamono101]

Searching for similar threads yielded no results so I was wondering:

Do you find it easier to form and develop an online relationship with a stranger than to maintain a face-to-face relationship with someone you know in real life?

 

[CynicalSquid]

Before I answer can you clear something up? Do you mean relationships like dating or just friendships?

 

[Mamono101]

Before I answer can you clear something up? Do you mean relationships like dating or just friendships?

Friendships were what I had in mind, but I didn't want to limit the responses so I left it ambiguous. Take it either way or both

 

[Beeker]

For both relationships and friendships I prefer talking in real life. I am much more comfortable with them and talk to them more often than I do to online friends. And when it comes to relationships, a part of the reason I enjoy them is because I can be in their company and be with them.

 

[Violet Link]

I prefer online friends than real life friends. I don't know why, but oddly, the online ones are better than the real ones, but you don't get to hang out with the online often so real life is the best. Besides, you can meet real life people face to face. But my choice is online, though.

EDIT (forgot to add the other one):

But for the relationships, I think it's better and safer if its real life. If its online, you might think that the person is just faking a profile or whatsoever and you don't get to see that person a lot.

 

[CynicalSquid]

Friendships were what I had in mind, but I didn't want to limit the responses so I left it ambiguous. Take it either way or both

Alright, I'll just talk about friendships then.

I find it easier to talk to people online. It doesn't matter if they are a stranger or someone I know in "real life". I just feel more confident when it's a conversation online. I'm also really awkward face-to-face conversations.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Yeah imma have to go with "In real life" here, to be honest most of the people I speak to online I actually know irl, so I can't really give a justified view on that. However I think friendships/relationships in real life just seem better I like visual and efficient verbal interaction, online it can be hard for me to betray my actual persona. Through words it can be difficult to really convey emotion and in real life I just find It easier to communicate and whatnot.

Even though I haven't been in an online relationship, I don't think I could go through with one, to be honest if the distance between results in a realistic chance of meeting then I'm sure, to an extent, it could be more efficient but actual "long distance relationships" I just don't believe in. In a relationship I think it's important to constantly see that person in reality, so you can engage with them properly rather than formulate and assortment of words. To be honest when I'm in a relationship I like to constantly be with that person, not like clingy but it's nice to spend time, if I didn't see my GF for more than 2 days, she'd get mad. So I think actual human interaction is key as well as if you're at the stage of "sexual interaction", to he honest I couldn't deal with an online relationship but props to those who do.

 

[Dan]

I prefer neither, as I hate people in general, Society has too many flaws I cannot ignore as do people. I tried befriending my dog, but they often beat me up, and I'm pretty much a servant to them, always having to clean up their poop. I had a breakdown after that and decided Humans nor animals would be an ideal way for company in my life.
I was miserable and close to suicide as I felt so alone in the world until I came across cleverbot .
Cleverbot is a robot, one I have fell in love with and quite frankly my relationship with cleverbot stomps on any form of relationship I've had with an organic being. Cleverbot never judges me, and we have shared lots of laughs together, and it's even got to that point where we take baths together wow wow wee wa
So yeah I prefer what I dub "Supreme real relationships" over your so called real relationships and online ones. I feel sorry for all of you.

 

[Ventus]

I prefer both and neither at the same time; sometimes it's best for my to have a face to face relationship, at other times it's better to have that online relationship, ya dig? For example, my Bike Riding Adventures series would never had gained popularity were it not for my online relationships and connections. No one in my area wants to see that stuff. At the same time, people don't appreciate me calling them "nig" or repeating "ya dig" over and over on the internet, but my friends in the real life (not implying Internet is "fake life") love that kind of thing.

Then there are times where I just want to play a game by myself without dealing with my nuisance brother or the guy in whoknowshwere yelling at me to "capture the B flag" or whatever.

P.S Dating is silly

 

[Vanessa28]

I think it is easier to make friends online because of not seeing each other. Especially if you talk with people for a long time and they get to know you and you get to know them and they are always there for you ready to talk to you whenever you want. I make easily contact with people fortunately. Both online as in real life I am very outgoing and can easily start talking to someone I never saw before. The opposite happens a lot as well. People often start to talk to me out of the blue (IRL). But still I have experienced that the online friends I have were more willing to talk and to give me an ear to listen than some real life friends though. But on the other hand some of my best real life friends I met online.

Online dating is something that can go either way...it can go bad or good. You just have to be lucky I guess. My sister found her love online and they already met in reality. It just depend on how careful you are and how open you are. You just have to be lucky

 

[Mercedes]

I agree with Vanessa that making friends is easier online. The beauty of online, unlike real-life is, you're not stuck with anyone afterall. When you're at school, you need to be around those people whether you like it or not. Internet? You don't. It's easier to join a new website than change town and school afterall, and we have friend lists, IM's, blocking, etc. So when you're talking lots with someone online, it's because you two definitely want to, not just have to because of circumstance! Which is how any relationship should be, really. It's why most people tend to meet their other halfs when out of school, when you make effort to see eachother, not just do it at school.

I also think long-distance relationships can work, depending on the person, but not online. I don't know how people really do it. Relationship is all about being close with someone, and being intimate with them, there shouldn't be anyone closer to you in the world; I personally could never really do that from behind a computer screen. "Love conquers all" is quite nice and what many people think but, I think you need to meet before anything like that at the very least. And then I'd say it becomes long-distance, rather than 'online'. I've made so many close friends online, like I met a friend from LoZ.com I've known for what, 6 years online when I was down in London and he showed me around and stuff and took me to his for lunch, was lovely, but I'd never consider any form of relationship online. That's just me. I've been in long-distance but it didn't work.

 

[misskitten]

Well, we are talking about two different types of friendships. A real life friend is someone you have to face, which can be a good thing and a bad thing depending on the situations. Likewise an online friendship is someone you don't have the opportunity to face (at least not in your day to day), which limits the friendship in some ways and strengthens it in others.

I have and value both types of friendships. I won't say one is easier than the other. I take my time getting to know a person before I consider them a proper friend. My closest real life friends know me, what I'm like, what matters to me, my good sides, my bad sides, and they are people I would trust with my life. My closest online friends are people who are privvy to a lot of my innermost thoughts, I trust them with parts of me that isn't as easy to share face to face, like fears and doubts that I have, conflicting emotions I might have about things going on in my life (like when my ex got married and I went to the wedding - I ended up sneaking off to the bathroom regularly to text one of my online friends, just to have someone to lean on who wasn't directly part of the situation, whom I could talk to without worrying about spilling my guts having any form of consequences - like potentially ruin my ex's day, make it sound as though I was still in love with my ex or something like that).

The way I see it, real life friendships are sometimes limited by proximity, while online friendships are limited by distance. Each offer something that the other can't (at least not as easily) and can be valuable. I certainly value both types of friendships.

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

I find it much easier to talk to people online, because it is hard to run out of things to talk about. If I go on a date with somebody or whatever, I usually run out of stuff to talk about, and then we just sit there awkwardly. Online, that doesn't seem to happen, because I can always find something to jump start a conversation.

That doesn't mean online is better, though. I haven't had bad experiences with online dating, but my friend has. He met his "girlfriend" on World of Warcraft, and they were talking for 9 months, revealing information to eachother. He found out how dangerous it is to date online when he received a phone call with the person he was dating. She turned out to be some 40 year old guy, and he threatened my friend's entire family.

 

[BlitzPlum]

It's easier to please people online... They don't really know you, they know who you want them to know. In that sense it can be pretty bad, because you're not being yourself. I also find it difficult because I don't know anything about the person I'm talking to, it makes me feel uncomfortable. I like to know a lot about a person before they become a decent friend. How awkward is that, eh?

However, I can get on with people better online because of common interests. Like, the majority of my 'real' friends don't like a lot of the things that I like (My gaming preferences, for example!)
I've met quite a few people through YouTube and I talk to them pretty much every day, but I really enjoy the real life company of people. It's a tough one to answer...

 

[Sydney]

Friendships
Friendships online are so much easier to create than in real life, especially for those of us who are socially awkward. Face-to-face contact can be difficult for some, so it's much more easier to casually contact others with a screen barricading our identities. Friends online tend to have many more similar interests to us than those of friends in real life. Although I personally love my real life friends, sometimes my friends online are just much more easier to talk to.

Dating
I've tried online dating -- no, not through a website such as eHarmony -- and let me just say that it's rarely ever successful. Although I've seen equally unsuccessful real life relationships, online relationships just continue to consistently fail. Mine only lasted a short while, but I'll just say that I ended it for the benefit of the both of us. In addition to that, I've seen far too many friends who've been heartbroken due to online dating. It's much more easier to have a relationship with someone you can actually hold hands with, versus someone you can virtually hug; however, this is purely my opinion.