Online Chatting Builds Online Friendships

photo credit: jimmyroq

Friendship can be a difficult thing. Once you’re out on your own in the adult world, it can be tricky to find. And once you do find it, it can be just as tricky to maintain. Between your job, family, and all the other hassles of life, the importance of keeping friendships strong can be forgotten. This includes not only friends from the real world, but also the ones you’ve met in the cyber world. Meeting people online has become a popular way to make friends. The pool of people to choose from is practically limitless, so you don’t have to settle when it comes to who you want to interact with, unlike in the real world when the pool is quite tiny. But if you want these friendship to grow, you need to nurture them in the same way you would in the real world.

There’s so many ways to stay in touch with someone, so what’s the best way? Well…there’s Facebook for starters. Once you friend someone, they pretty much have access to your entire life (or at least the parts that you are willing to post.) They’ll see all your pictures, know the events you are attending, and check out what’s happening in your day to day life. But I don’t know how great Facebook is at maintaining a friendship. Throwing a party, writing comments, and posting humiliating pictures? Sure. A tool for important interactions? Probably less so.

The old standard is MSN messenger. When I was a teenager I used to have endless conversations, usually about nothing, with my friends over MSN. It was the easiest way to socialize with all your friends at once. Of course, when I was a teenager technology wasn’t the same as it is today. Sure, I had a computer with the internet (dial up…ugh), but the computers weren’t paper thin with built in webcams. There were a lot of annoyances to the hardware and the software, and we just had to accept that. Unless you’re a skilled writer (and trust me, most teenagers are not) it is hard to properly convey your tone. The message you send can be completely misinterpreted by your friend and vice versa.

The best way I can think of to create and enjoy online friendships is video chatting. Whether it be 6rounds or another video site or even through the webcam application on the new and improved MSN, it really cuts down the feeling of distance between you and your friend. Maybe it’s not drinks at a bar, but it is better than text on a page. And every day the technology just keeps getting better. On 6rounds, with some Youtube maneuvering, you and your friend can watch movies or television together. You can play games. Or you can just talk.

Friendship is one of the most important aspects of life. Without it, we’d lead a lonely existence. But don’t forget, whether it’s real or cyber, a friendship needs work.

Do you have another idea about how to build online friendships? Let us know below!