For someone who have more friends online than physically, I think this prompt is directed more to me and my experiences with online friendships. Friendships, whether online or offline, is a very powerful connection for positive or for negative. They say, "you are the kind of friends you keep" as a way to say we choose our friends wisely.
I've had countless friends from my childhood but only a few got closest to me, many I lost contact with and many we just check on each other once in a while. My best friendships all started online, I remember how active I was on Facebook after 2go got less busy and the level of connections I built with people I never met physically till now.
There is a whole lot of differences in having online friends and physical friends but one thing that's common is the connection built. Many will say we can't get real connections online like we do offline but my past experiences until now proves that totally wrong as I've had real friends who have been there as my physical friends have.
The possibilities in online friendships are many. The first is, there is more freedom of speech in sharing thoughts and finding mutuality. For someone like me who have more to say when I chat than when I have to face someone to say something, having to build connections by chatting sounds fun and gets more easier for me.
Another possibility is that misunderstandings are hard to come by, even though misunderstanding is what makes a friendship stronger. I'm not saying there are no misunderstandings with online connections but from my own experience, it can easily be avoided by just being open and chatting about everything that could be shared.
Misunderstandings only spring from what has been shared and idea that has been built, I think physical connections reveal more than intended and this messes up with the built ideas which could end up causing more misunderstandings than expected or can be able to handle. This is one of the reasons I prefer online connections.
But there are quite more limitations to having online connections than having physical, even though I'll still prefer having online connections since it is what I'm most used to and have more experience with. They say, "a friend in need is a friend indeed" and this is for friends online and offline as there are times we need them closer.
With physical friends, we can get physical help more and I think that's most what we need our friends for. To be there for us, especially when we are physically sick or down but online friends could also offer support in their own way although it's still a limitation. I've seen friends who go the extra mile for each other physically.
Online friends can do same but the limitations are quite obvious and that's being physically available. For me, so many friends I met online, I wished I had them as real life friends as I bond so well with them but some were never made possible and some were which I am grateful until date. Over all, both kind of friends are awesome.
Images used are AI generated.