Do online relationships have the same depth as relationships off line? Can they obtain the same meaningful purpose as your friends you see in day-to-day life? What do you think?
I have had some interesting conversations recently with people in the social world about the friendship dynamics between online and off line relationships. I have only been debating this because of the increased time I have been spending on social media platforms over the past few weeks. I have had the opportunity to ‘meet’ some interesting and extremely intellectual people through feeds at Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN.
The problem that exists, for me, is the overwhelming urge to know more… The desire to get deeper into a person’s psyche and actually understand where they are coming from and where they have been. I have had fun debating and yet I am left with this undeniable longing for something more.
The sharing of information and idea generation has always been a staple in social media. I started using social media as a way to gain more insight into technology, entrepreneurship, and the overall aspect of viral marketing. What I have found is (while all the information is great) there is a point where a person stops and wants something more from a relationship or an acquaintance.
I have had extreme success in meeting people in my area off line whom I had the first interaction online. The relationship factor grows exponentially when you are sharing both online and off line forms of communication. I know research and data is a prerequisite to have in blog posts pertaining to an opinion. In order to support an idea it is always better to have others opinions to strengthen your own. Unfortunately, I am running off the cuff here and spouting words over a virtual page.
When is the right time to want more from an online relationship? Is there a need for it? I love the information super highway sometimes more than the road outside of my house… and that is what bothers me… slightly.
How do you strengthen online relationships to the point where you can say they are a friend? Where does a follow or a subscription turn into a relationship?
Are we meant to delve deeper? We should be.
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thought provoking post Kyle. I find that many times the folks we connect with online would be the ones that would become our friends if they lived in our town. It is probably easier to meet like minded folks on the web because they hang out where we do. In offline environments it is a lot harder to find the people we already have some shared life experience or common interest. I don't think relationships develop differently online or offline. Both a product of mutual connection and effort on some level beyond the surface. Thanks.
I don't think so.
I'm going to use my online world as an example. I have a FB account where I keep in contact with pretty much everyone I went to highschool with and people I've worked with. I keep up with this status
The people I've met online I don't keep up with everything they have to say. The connection definitely isn't as strong as the relationships I've met offline. (and I have met some GREAT people online, but it's mainly all blog/business related)
The solution – it's time to meet a lot of these awesome people I've met online, offline!
The problem with this though is we haven't invented teleporters yet
I'd love for there to be a big blogging/social media conference here in Brisbane, Australia to have the chance to turn some of these online relationships into offline ones.
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
Online relationships is for online purpose, and it will never important as off-line relationship
I see online relationships as a stepping stone to off line ones. If you can meet someone online and develop an understanding; shared interests, opinions, tastes etc then it's a good vetting process for if you'll get on at a more meaningful level. I have a London based friend who met someone in Morocco via FB and they now have a close relationship. Sure, she travels to see him a couple of times a year but they met and stay in touch online.
For many singles, particularly those who've lost touch with their former wide circle of friends, it's an opportunity to meet people that they wouldn't otherwise have, particularly women for whom going to bars, pubs or clubs alone is a non-starter.
We can have some great conversation on this thoughtful post Kyle,I think we have to look at two sides of this.
First off in an online relationship we can easily generate a lot of information about the other person but in an offline relationship its not readily possible that means when we interact with people in the online world we don’t sound organic and that particular conversation gets limited to some thoughts but when we do the same in the offline world we are natural and afterwards we check what the other person is doing once he tells us about it.
So its always better to convert an online relationship into an offline experience.