Day 274 (January 7th)---Are online friends real friends

I have been wondering what the answer to this question is for quite some time now. Last year I developed what I thought were some "strong" online friendships on the social network of Xanga but quickly had those backfire on me. I have also had friendships online that I thought were developing and then suddenly "poof" these people vanish into thin air. (Though I will say I have some strong online acquaintances I have never met also that I met through Xanga and Facebook). Today I decided to find out what other people's thoughts were on whether or not online friendship was real. I consulted a lot of blogs that were listed on Xanga as well as an article based on a study done with people who have "online friends". The study revealed that "According to a study at Sheffield Hallam University, having lots of online friends doesn't mean you have tons of real-world friends. On average, the study says, people who do online social networking have exactly the same number of real-world close friends -- five, to be exact." The blogs shared a consensus that yes, online friendships could be as strong as "real" ones but like anything, one must take caution.

This was a great new thing for me to study up on. As one gets older it seems to be a lot harder to find friends. I think that is why people flock to these social sites (and even post ads for friends on Craigslist these days!) For me personally as I get involved in a Community Volunteer group as well as continue to get involved in our new Church, I am hoping I can continue to make new friends and develop current friendships.

-Jackie