Friendship. It’s one of the key needs everyone deserves in their life. For most people, they make friends with their peers in school or at work, but for some people it’s slightly harder than that. The internet. It’s a massive place, full of opportunities and danger, yet it is the perfect place to make friends. Today, I interviewed, Man-Yin Lin, Oscar Lynn and Mrs. Anonymous to find out their views about having online friends.
What is your general opinion on online friends?
“I think online friends in some ways, can be very useful. Sometimes it is hard to tell people closer to you your problems. With an online friend, you can tell them anything, it’s like venting your problems to someone, yet they cannot judge you or hurt you because, at the end of the day, they are someone online who has nothing to do with you.” - Man-Yin Lin
“I believe online friends are great for people who are different in general, online friends help the need to be heard when you’re having problems at school or in work. There’s a lot of people in the world that are just like you and all you have to do it find them.” - Oscar Lynn
“Online friends are better than friends in real life. Online they will be themselves, in the real world they are who they have to be.” - Mrs. Anonymous
What are the advantages of having online friends?
“It is likely that online friends will share the same interests as you, therefore in some ways, it is easier to talk to an online friend as real life friends may have differing interests and hobbies. It’s also beneficial in a sense that you can meet people from different countries, who may become your good friends in the future, which you would have never been able to meet in real life.” - Man-Yin Lin
“In my opinion is depends on the person really, a lot of people in the world are having tougher times than most realise and the online world is a way to forget about it even for a minute and talk with people all over the world to connect socially and it’s really just to enjoy life more. The best part is that there is no status of who’s more important when you’re online, everyone is equal.” - Oscar Lynn
“Well for starters, you know you’re not alone in your sorrows. Even if they aren’t with you physically, their words and feelings are with you. You can connect through heart rather than through physical sense. Online friends taught me that you don’t have to be physically present to know that someone cares. You can share your problems with a stranger without showing your face and that helps a lot. On the internet, you have a mask, just like everyone else, no one cares what you do and you can be a free bird.” - Mrs. Anonymous
What are the disadvantages of having online friends?
“People online are not always who they seem to be. You can fake an identity, a personality and an image, because everything is online. You don’t always know who you can truly trust and it’s hard to know fact from fiction. What someone says to you online, could easily be a lie and you would never find out.” - Man-Yin Lin
“The only problem is if you trust someone too much online and you tell them your personal information about yourself, but to fix that, all you have to do is never give away information that could affect you in the long run.” - Oscar Lynn
“We can’t trust everyone with everything, even though it’s good to have someone’s support it’s better to be wary of people you have never met. There is also a possibility that someone might take advantage of your position and hack your personal life. Distance is also a very annoying thing about having online friends. If you get hacked or harassed, you can’t stop it physically and that’s a major disadvantage. The secret behind intentions are expressed through facial expressions, which you cannot be seen through a screen so you can be easily fooled. If you want a friend, you can do nothing but trust them which for some people like me is very hard to do, this also means you have to risk everything to just get one good friend. You can also never know how many people are talking through one account and there is also a chance of being publicly humiliated. Unless you are very careful, you and your feelings can be played with and you can be easily broken.” - Mrs. Anonymous
There are both, good and bad sides to having online friends. But as long as you stay safe and know what to do if you get into a problem you should be fine.
Nicole Fernandes – Newstead Wood School
