Online VS. IRL

Lately i've had quite a few discussions with various friends about meeting friends online. 

Not meeting people in a romantic sense as such, but communicating with people online, who you then go on to meet in real life, and sometimes become the best of friends. 

Maybe it's because of stories we've been told, or movies we've watched, like Trust, but for some, the idea of meeting friends online seems like far too much of a foreign concept for them to understand. Of course there are creeps out there, who pray on young, seemingly innocent tweens, and they'll always be those who wreck it for everyone else, but in my opinion, it's not all bad. 

Because of the way the internet is integrated into so much of our daily lives, I think it would be impossible not to become friends with the people you interact with. Sure, there are some exceptions, like if you only stuck to places like Facebook, where you knew all your friends already, but the beauty of the internet is that it allows you to connect with people from all walks of life, that you wouldn't otherwise get the chance to meet. 

I know heaps of people who have met some of their best friends, or even their partners through social media sites like Tumblr and Twitter (even Instagram!), and I honestly don't see anything wrong with that. I myself have met some really good friends through these sites too, and the way we interacted online is exactly the same as how we interact in real life.  Even saying that though-"in real life" -makes it sound like the people we meet online aren't "real," but i'm sure you get my drift, just because something happens online does not make it real, not at all.

Maybe because I work for a social media firm, and I spend a large chunk of my day interacting with people on various social media sites, but in my opinion, how you become friends with someone shouldn't matter, only why you are friends should. 

And hey, if you are going to meet someone you've met online in a real-life setting, at least put your detective hat on and do a bit of stalking first so you know they're legit.