?Making friends online is a controversial topic these days. With all of the real life and online bullying occurring around the world, online friendship has proved to have its pros and cons.
The advantages of having friends online include:
1. No geographical limitation! You can have great friends from across the globe, and you aren’t limited to living near by!
2. A closeness occurs between friends in the online world. People are much more likely to open up, divulge secrecies, and participate in deep topics through email and chat because they feel more comfortable typing the words as opposed to saying them
3. You do not have to see, smell, or listen to them if you don’t want to! We have all had those friends with terrible body odor. Being friends online makes this a non issue!
4. It is very simple to end a conversation when your over it, tired, or would rather talk to someone else! You can claim dozens of excuses, from a power outage to a chat malfunction! They will be none the wiser.
5. Your friends can be of any race, sex, size or age. No need to worry about what others are thinking of you or your friend, because it is nobody’s business but your own.
The disadvantages of making friends online are:
1. You cannot physically be close to them, that means no hugs, kisses, etc.
2. You can’t do fun spontaneous activities such as go to the beach, grab a drink at happy hour, or go out to dinner!
3. People online can easily pretend to be people they aren’t. Sadly there are thousands and thousands of sketchy people like child predators and rapists posing to be nice unassuming people looking for real friendships.
4. Communicating online often leads to miscommunication without the advantages of body language and vocal tone.
5. You don’t really know for sure who they are, unless you meet them in person. Which from the show “To Catch A Predator” we all know isn’t the best idea.
