Are online friends as valuable as friends in real life?

I view my online friends almost the same as I do my real life ones. However, it's a bit easier talking to your online friends because sometimes you feel that you can share more of your feelings with them.

Yes they are. If you are getting chances of sharing your feelings with your online friends, so same you generally do with your real friends. So they really aren't comparable. Only difference in them is the presence. Virtually and physically. But friends are friends whatever may be the case.

I used to have couple online buddies that I always chatted with, we talked about a lot of stuff, didn't need to think about too much because they were just online buddies and they won't do anything to you. But I won't go out to meet them so I won't treat them as real friends in real life, chatting online is good enough.

I think online friends and real lie friends are different. But sometimes I think talking with online friends is better, cuz you dont know them. And sure they dont know you. So when you talk to them, you dont have to care lotta things but just talk. Online friends are great. But sometimes real life friends are much more important~

hi, it is hard to tell who are gonna trust most in my online friends. But i always keep in mind what to tell my online friends from what to tell with my physically present friends. But what i have noticed, my online friends doesn't last. Sometimes i feel that they are true. But there comes a time that you don't have anything to share with them anymore.

Hi shhheila, I agree you and appreciate you. I value friendship and not the way we made friends. We may be friends through internet and we may not have seen yet but we are friends. I respect friendship and I don't look it how it came. So up to me friends are equally valuable irrespective of the way. Happy Mylotting.

Considering the fact that I don’t have any real life friends so to speak of, my virtual friends here at mylot are all that I have. They are not much though…I agree that they cant come over and stay the night with me if required, I have never seen or spoken to any of them, but I know that if ever I am in need of some good neutral advice, they are there for me. my family is my only friend to speak of and we all know how the family can never be neutral…so there are times when I have really searched for somebody with whom I could open my heart…have a talk, listen to some soul soothing words, get some advise which would help me overcome my difficulties and I have found all of it here. So yes, virtual friends are not really the same as real friends but I have always enjoyed my friendship with mylot members here.

I think so, since my definition of friends are people who are with you through good and bad times. I found some online friends who accompany me when i'm feeling sad, oh, the marvel of technology. Emails and chats will do. Time has come when friends i personally know have become too busy to spare me attention sometimes. It's understandable. That's where the value of online friends come in. So i guess both kind of friends are worth it.

same here, i value my friends whether i met them online or elsewhere... in the same sense that i do value my time spent with them. actually at present, since i'm so far away from my friends (geograpgically speaking), i get to spend most of my free time with online friends. every smile , every laugh i have shared with them is as much as i would spend with my other friends... even if i haven't met them in the flesh yet. and true... some of them will not stay as online friends... perhaps some i will get to meet up close... be closer friends than others. who knows... hehehe as a personal experience, i have met my bestfriend of 15 years as we passed each other on the stairs of an apartment building, one going up and the other going down. we have been friends since and no fight or misunderstanding on record to date. hehehe so i figure, people are actually strangers before they became friends. strangers we meet are acquaintances the first few times we meet. but these acquaintances get to be friends when we have bonded, shared and connected. like we do with online friends.

I think they aren't comparable. Sometimes I can share secrets with online buddies I can't share with my real life friends (fear of embarrassment) and we can be closer that way but whose to say that's more or less better than going to watch a movie with a friend in real life and chatting about daily topics. I value both my online friends and real life friends.

Hi There They are both valuable because i have also build deep friendship with online friend just the same as friends in real life.It's the mind that connected and made us have this great bond.And in the case that you have mentioned that if feelings are receprocated then that what build and kept the friendship going. CHEERS!

The value of online friends may depend on the similarity of our offline lives. For example, it is hard to imagine a policeman make online friends with a really bad guy who type how he fools police. On the other hand, the more our offline lives are similar, the more likely we can share the innerside of us, and thus make a long, deep and valuable relationship.

I value both my online and IRL friends. They each have thier own pros and cons. I have met some great friends at http://www.chatterscene.com a web site for woman.