An analysis of online friendships

Internet has changed the way of life of many people ... atleast of those who access the internet regularly without worrying about the charges thanks to the many options available..This article draws up from the experiences I have had with my "virtual friends".
Many issues do crop up. Firstly one must check whether the person on the other side is actually the person he/she claims to be. Failure to do this can lead to rather embarassing consequences.But then there really isint much you can do to check it other than trusting your instincts & experience in the virtual world.
Now comes the case when we are reasonably sure of the authenticity of the other party.Now there seems to be two categories of people.

1. They distinguish between real and online friends. They treat online friends as aquantainces to pass their time with and consciously keep their real friends at a higher pedestal.

2. These people do not make such a distinction. They seem to believe that the essence of friendship is effective communication, heart to heart. Meeting face to face is not a prerequisite for that.

I feel compatibility issues crop up between people belonging to different categories. The people of category 1 take a longer time to trust the others. You join college and meet your hostel mates for the first time and you are ready to tell them your cell number but you are hesitant to tell someone with whom you have talked for hours. This can potentially create a bit of resentment within the other person. These two people do find it a little difficult to relate.Lack of physical interaction can create other problems. Suppose you said something to a "real" friend. If that person does not respond, you can physically confront him/her. But if you find that your online buddy is not responding to mails or sms', you become hesitant to press further. You are never really sure whether the person belongs to category 1 or 2. You can seldom know with any degree of certainty what that person thinks of you, beyond what you are told by the person himself. So you hesitate in exercising your rights as a friend. People err on the side of caution.So ... these are few of the problems. What are the solutions ? No idea.
On second thoughts there's more to virtual friendship than these 2 categories. Many people,present a seperate peronality in a virtual friendship.People who are extremely shy in real life but a lot more talkative and daring in a virtual relationship.....the whole concept of residual self-image....u get to be what u always wanted to be :)so i guess theres a third category where ppl are closer to online friends than the real life friends.....something like online friend taking the place of the 'dear diary' (analogy drawn from tom riddles dairy in Harry Potter 2 :) )
On personal thoughts I eveloved as a person when I made so many friends online.I dont know what kind of an image of mine general people will make after this but I am much much more closer to some of my online friends than I have been to any of the real ones (with vertika being an exception).This can be proved from the very simple fact that the topic that is going on in my blog right now "Gems in my life" includes real as well as virtual friends(although some of the friends have now evolved & become real friends too as in the definition of real friends for general people...have talked to them, have heard there voice) but who have started meaning to me much more than any real person can & who have been there for me,to hear me out,to share my problems,to suggest me,to comfort me,to help me by simply just being there
People will always be more comfortable behind the scenes. I mean you can be anyone you want to be behind the computer. And quite frankly,more yourself!!

Note 1: Real and virtual friends are used to refer to non-online and online friends and they do not, in any way, comment on the intensity and quality of the relationship.
Note 2: I am not in category 3(as in I dont become another person behind the screen...I am the same as I am in real life but yes I am very close to some of my online buddies) or 1 :D

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