by Nathan Chu

The term “online friends” has gained more legitimacy in recent years with the increasing popularity of online video games and social media platforms. People we meet on the Internet nowadays are becoming more “real” than ever before. This was especially true during the work-from-home and study-from-home days of COVID-19, when people spent more time online. We may have never met some of our online friends in person, but they may know more about us than peers who live around us. Although online friendships lack physical interaction, they are proven to be just as authentic as traditional offline friendships because online platforms like social media or video games provide spaces where people can share experiences, build emotional bonds, and offer moral support to one another.

In the past, people usually met others and made new friends within their local communities, where they would spend time together in person. Connections and friendships made online were often considered temporary, superficial, or unreliable. In Darius Chan and Grand Cheung’s article comparing online vs. offline friendships, their test consisted of 162 internet users from Hong Kong. These users “were asked to think of two friends, one they knew through face-to-face interactions and one they knew through the Internet, and then describe the qualities of their offline and online friendships. Results revealed that offline friendships involved more interdependence, breadth, depth, code change, understanding, commitment, and network convergence than online friendships” (Chan and Cheung, 305). However, the same research shows that over time the differences between online friendships and offline friendships diminished (Chan and Cheung, 305). Moreover, “contrary to the evidence typically found for offline friendships, the qualities of cross-sex online friendships were higher than those of same-sex online friendships. These results suggest that the influence of the structural and normative constraints typically found in face-to-face interaction may be different in the online setting” (Chan and Cheung, 305). This study shows that although online friendships may begin differently from offline friendships, they can still become meaningful and reliable over time. Although people have often misunderstood online friendships as automatically dangerous or untrustworthy, this impression can change over time; as people get to know one another through personal stories, shared experiences, and common interests, the “stranger” feeling can gradually disappear and develop into a genuine friendship.  

There are many factors to consider when defining a friendship. Simply Psychology identifies emotional support as one of the primary pillars for friendship. According to the article, “online friendships can provide high-quality emotional support. Qualitative and quantitative research consistently found that people form genuine emotional bonds online, share deeply personal information, and experience meaningful empathy and understanding in digital exchanges. Text-based communication can in some contexts facilitate greater disclosure than in-person communication — the reduced social cues lower inhibition for some people” (“What Research Shows About Online Friendship Quality, Emotional Support”). Sharing experiences and meaningful personal stories can show that online friends are just as capable of providing emotional moral support to one another. This matters because people sometimes need emotional support but may feel uncomfortable speaking to friends and family in person. In these situations, they may turn to their online friends in hopes those friends would understand their situation and offer helpful advice. This exchange of personal information helps build friendships by creating emotional connection, a sense of belonging, and a feeling of community. Providing comfort, listening, and giving support are things that real friends do for one another. 

Just because your friend is online does not mean that they are less of a friend than someone known in real life. According to research from Regain.us, “nowhere in the definition of the word ‘friend’ does it indicate you must communicate in person. Online friendships are a wonderful part of many people’s lives. You can bond with someone from behind another screen, and sometimes the bond goes deeper than it does for your in-person friends (“Pros of Having an Online Friend”). This shows that friendships do not require physical presence to be real. People can still build trust, share personal stories, and connect deeply through a screen. Online friendships give another way for people to express their feelings, especially when face-to-face conversations feel strenuous. Therefore, online friendships can be just as meaningful as offline friendships, and in some cases, the emotional bond can feel even stronger. 

In conclusion, even though people once thought online friendships were less authentic than offline friendships, research shows that over time they become just as real. Studies show that online friends can give strong emotional support, share personal stories, and build trust, just like friends we meet in person. Because online and offline friendships both provide emotional support, a sense of belonging, and reliability, online friendships should be considered just as authentic as offline friendships.