Getting to know the people you don't actually know
So I was surfing around YouTube today and I stumbled across this video. Here's a clip, but to sum things up, it's basically one of a series of videos where a girl goes all over the country meeting friends that she's made online.
Ten, even five, years ago, most people probably would've thought that this chick was crazy. However, with the evolution of the internet and social media, more and more people are reaching out and making connections online. I know that as a TWolves fan living on the East Coast, I've always appreciated the ability to hop on the computer and talk Wolves. After all, I can count on one hand the amount of other Wolves fans I've met in real life that I didn't meet either at a road game or a trip to Minnesota. I've never encountered a true die-hard like myself. Needless to say, we're a rare breed.
Working on Bloguin has brought even more online friends into my life. I'm now regularly corresponding with hundreds of people that I've never met in person as we work on their blogs. Over time, some of these people have become good friends of mine, which, when I stop to think of it, is really strange since I don't even know what most of these people look like. They're just text on a screen to me, and, yet, I interact more with them on a daily basis than some of my nearest and dearest long-time friends.
Some may say that's a sad state of affairs. Others may simply chalk it up to the fact that it's the year 2010 and that's just how we roll now. But to answer the main question posed in the video - "Can you be real-life friends with somebody you've never met in real life?", I'd have to say, yes. People are people whether you know them face-to-face or over the internet.
