Social Media Friends, Are they REAL?

Tweet

In the last year I've had 3 friends die whom I mainly interacted with using social media. Two of the people had truly captured my heart. We had bonded in a way that went beyond words on a screen. The sad part is, both of these friends lived less than 300 miles from my house, but we had never met. As I explain to people how these deaths affect me, I feel almost silly because I'd never met them and yet I feel as though the world has lost a bright spot when it lost them. I mourn for people I didn't actually "know". Each of these friends we had a many things in common and had met as part of a group. The first one, I followed her running story and we would talk about our family lives and running struggles. She was brutally murdered in a domestic violence scenario. The second was a belly dancer, much like myself, and shortly after we started talking she became ill with cancer. I was going through a cancer experience with a family member and so we often talked about that. I even went so far after she started losing her hair due to chemo to send her a little care package of makeup and beauty supplies. I followed her struggles for 2 years and yesterday she passed away. Has social media evolved our understanding and emotional ties to friendships? Does friendship no longer mean talking and doing things together? I guess I struggle with how real all of these connections we make are out in the cyber world.