Majority of us spend more time online than we spend with the physical world. We have found ourselves jobs, families, friends, and bosses in that world, the digital world has become another home for most of us, and to be honest, life is fun there.
Most of the people I know are as a result of social media. I remember the time of 2Go, I got to meet a lot of people, both the ones living in the same city as me and the ones from outside.
It was like a norm those days, you meet someone online for some time, become friends then schedule an appointment to meet subsequently.
I was taking a walk with a friend the other day. Every place we entered, he realized that I knew a few people there, the thing piqued his interest and he asked how I knew people like that.
The truth is some of them were from school but a greater number were from Social Media, in fact, even the ones I knew from school got to become close to me through Social Media because I am someone who is often quiet offline but talkative online.
Creating relationships online is often very easy, as one can easily dedicate time and give the needed attention. One doesn't necessarily need to spend money on transportation, inconvenience or distract anyone with his physical presence.
You can be in touch regardless of distance and you whatever barrier. This makes the relationship even more fun and gives it a better chance to last.
I have had a few online dating and numerous friends that I have not yet set my eyes on from the digital world. To be frank, the digital relationship is usually beautiful, however, it doesn't often last due to distance.
No matter how much you care about each other, with time doubts and insecurities will creep in and from experience, when it gets to points like that, it's usually difficult to settle.
Maintaining a healthy digital relationship is not a cheap deal. Like I said earlier, it's very easy to have a beautiful beginning but as time goes on, the relationship may crumble.
I had a number of friends like that, Once upon a time we were like oxygen to each other on social media but suddenly, the bond broke and everything went cold.
But, even though it is not easy to maintain digital relationships, one thing we must know is that it is possible to have a lasting and healthy digital relationship, but it may cost us consistent deliberate working on the relationship.
I know a few ways that may help improve our digital relationships, and they include:
1 . Consistent communication: we all need attention, and we all value the quality time our friends and families spend talking with us. It gives us a feeling that we are valued.
To maintain any relationship whether physical or online consistent communication matters. Communication is the life of any relationship, take it out and the relationship would be doomed.
No matter our schedule, we should endeavor to create time each day to check on our friends online. Even if we don't spend so much time chatting or talking with them that small time we take to check up on them and hear how they are doing will make our bond strong.
The more we communicate, the more we get to know each other better and the more we would value each other. When we stop, we start to forget each other and if it continues, the relationship will die eventually.
2 . Respect each other's boundaries: people are wired differently, and some friends don't like unnecessary tagging, unnecessary calls, and so on. Respect their decision. If they are not okay with it, understand them and let them have that space. Everyone loves to keep friends that understand them and know how their limits.
3 . Be very open and transparent: online relationship needs more transparency than even the physical relationship. These are people you've not met before, both of you ought to be as open and transparent as possible in order to build trust between yourself.
Do all that is possible to avoid lying to those who care about you online because the day they discover you are not trustworthy trust me, you may lose them.
4 . Schedule video calls if possible, from time to time, talk on video calls, and get to know each other better. That will help you to know who you are relating with better to some extent.
You both can see each other's environment and possibly notice certain behaviors from the person as you talk love.
In conclusion, maintaining an online relationship is not a one-person job, both parties must actively participate to make it work. In a situation where it's one-sided, no matter the effort one makes, it may end up giving poor results.