Internet friendships

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You know what I love about the internet. The fact that it's easier to make friends that exist only in text than in any other form. I can write anything I want on the internet, or vent to anyone. If I actually have to speak to someone, or see someone, or interact in person at all, it's much more difficult (nearly impossible sometimes). Anyone else agree?

It's much easier to talk on the Internet, I think its because you dont have to see them, and you can lie and nobody will know.... In a good way. And My Favorite... I dont have to look at them when I talk . I've got more reasons, But no need to fill up the page with them. I find the extra 20 reasons are true also.

I don't have internet friends, unless I have met them or have talked to them online for years.

Internet people are people to talk to, but I wouldn't class them as friends.

All of my good friends are online, meeting people in RL sucks.

Talking to people online, even if you know them, is always alot easier then IRL for me. So I guess meeting people on the internet and talking to them seems good and alot easier but I think it's just because you don't have to see their reactions, and they can hide their reaction if it's bad. You don't have to obsess over body language or anything and you can stop talking whenever you want - IRL you would have to have a really good excuse to just turn around and walk away without any reason apart from wanting to get away. It's so much easier to tell people stuff, and I guess that's how I open up to my real life friends as well.

I don't think I've ever had actual "friends" that I know exclusively over the internet, although I have met one or two of my "IRL" friends through the medium. I also use the internet to keep in contact with friends. I talk to people and get to know them a little on forums and through IM but I find I just don't completely connect with anyone unless I actually meet them. Sounds weird coming from an aspie, no?

Although, I certainly know more people in the physical world that I don't like or they don't like me, as opposed to the internet. So overall, I find that for me, the internet is a good and easy tool for some light socializing, and is definately more comfortable and less scary then talking to people in the real world, but isn't a substitute for actual friendship.

That being said, I am certainly glad that the internet exists for sites like these. While I'll never really get to know most of you, I'm glad I have a medium to discuss issues related to Asperger's with people who have it, since I don't think I know any in real life.

I have a few people online I regard as friends, the rest I know are just mere acquaintances.

I have a few "online only" friends I chat with once in a while. I also have some real-life friends I IM. But I also met some of my best real-life friends through the internet. I met them when one of them posted about a party he was having. Four of us are really good friends to this day. Only tough things is the closest friend of these four is about 90 miles away, so scheduling visits can be tough.

I find it way eaiser to talk to people online, then in real life. Ive told complete strangers online stuff I wouldnt tell a sole in person. I do have a few people I know online only I concider to be good friends. The rest im friendly with and chat with a lot, but, they arnt nessicarily "friends". Sence I have NO real life friends, there pretty much the only friends I got.

I probably have ten times more friends online than I do in RL. Which isn't saying much, considering the very limited amount of RL friends I have...

Why would you lie to someone you considered a friend? I mean, if you lie, what's the point of the friendship?

I'm really grateful for my internet friendships. Without them I'd have no one to talk to . I don't see a difference between interacting with and caring about someone on the internet vs. real lilfe. It's all communication. True, you don't live with someone on the internet, but how many of you live with your friends? Usually we just see friends from time to time; it's the same on the internet; you "see" each other from time to time by writing.

I do not chat on-line but I use the internet to meet new people in real life. The Internet is a great place to find people that have common interests with you. I have found a great group of people on the Internet that I hang out all of time with, None of them I would count as close friends but again, I already have several people that I consider close friends. I have not made a new close friends in about six years but I have kept several friendships for almost twelve years.

I have two online friends who I consider to be close friends, and the good thing is I can tell them just about everything. Also they're removed from any problem situations IRL so they can analyse what I tell them and not get hung up on emotion of the moment etc. OK so I can tell them stuff and it'll be biased, but they have a knack of picking up on that and asking me questions to find out the unbiased facts. They're both older than me - one by two years, the other by quite a few more, which means they have more wisdom than my RL friends. Also one of them's extremely, deaf and has really poor eyesight, so instead of straining to lip-read (which is often very inaccurate - only 30-40% of the English language can be lip-read) he knows exactly what I'm saying to him - his eyesight's good enough to be able to read the screen with some magnification.

Also the internet means you can choose whether or not to try to befriend somebody - you don't have to try to be polite for the sake of it. I'm really grateful for my online friends because they have changed some aspects of my life - they have given me wonderful advice. Plus online it easier to tell people things, even RL friends. It saves from tripping over my words when I'm nervous, and you can type something and read it through before you send it - it's saved me from digging myself into many holes!

Anyway, without the internet I'd not know a great deal about any of my interests to be honest. I'd also be extremely ignorant of things such as AS - I only know Aspie IRL and I don't know him at all well. He's great, but a few years younger, and a friend's brother, so it just would seem awkward trying to get to know him, to be honest. I'd also not know much about APD either, and the extra information (ie that which my consultant didn't tell me) has been extremely useful.

I'm so very grateful for my online friends, and also my online acquaintances