Should we consider the friends we meet on social media like the friends we see on a day-to-day basis?

Not really — to some extent. I say ‘not really’ instead of ‘no’ because I feel like that’s too strong and definitive as an answer. And I can already feel that I’m going to write an essay of a rant to better explain my answer/thoughts, so please bear with me.

Well, if way back when before the internet and all things digital, pen pals from opposite ends of the world were considered true friends regardless of distance and the fact that those pals can’t actually see each other unless they physically visit or include photos in their letters, then I think, yeah sure, internet friends can be considered as actual friends — only if they have good intentions. I think it’s nice to meet people who share the same interests as you. Sometimes, in this great and big world of ours, it can be really lonely and it’s not likely that you’ll find someone just around the corner who loves The Beatles just as much as you. Sometimes, we just need someone who ‘gets it’ — who gets you. And sometimes, that someone is a person you meet online. And that’s okay. Because then you learn more about them and they really do feel/are like any other friend you have in real life. Times are different now. Heck, people find true love online better than dates set up by common friends.

But (and here is the in-depth ‘not really’ part of my response), how do you know they’re not lying about who they are? What if one day you just stop talking? They read your messages and see your missed Skype calls, but they stop responding to you. Or you’re the one who does that? What happens then? Especially if that person is miles away from you. The connection is gone and sometimes there isn’t an explanation left there. I mean this can happen in real life too, but even then it’s easier to realise that the chemistry changed somewhere along all the hanging out you did/didn’t do. This is why, personally, I find it hard to consider friends online like friends you’d see on a day-to-day basis.

Personally, I consider friends that I see in real life as more genuine because I can actually see them and I can see that they’re not hiding behind a filter or a series of emojis. And plus, there’s more of a chance I can run into them as I’m going down an escalator and be able to hug them, then share a few good laughs. It’s these moments that make me more thankful for the true friends that I have and that I’m lucky to see on a day-to-day basis. Obviously, it’s harder to see them everyday like I did back in high school because we’re all busy doing our own thing. But that’s the beauty of real friends. I can just say ‘let’s do something’ and I can count on them to be there. And to be there for me, just as I am for them.

I can be there sitting on a balcony with them asking how their classes were and what class they have next. I can be there running into them on the morning train and complaining about how early it is for a lecture. I can be there and take photos with them in the middle of a shopping centre, and take photos of them in front of a green background on St. Pat’s day. I can be there and listen to them talk and them listen to me talk about anything and everything while we eat fries or bento. I can be there to watch them pick out their frozen yoghurt and their toppings, or help them find what shade of foundation best suits them. I can be there.

And when it’s time to leave, there is no doubt in my mind that I’ll see them again. That I’ll learn something new about them because they told me themselves not something I read in their tweets followed by some emojis. And I know that when they don’t reply straight away, I know that they’re just busy but they haven’t forgotten about me. And I know that the next time we meet, it’ll just be like old times and we’re picking up right where we left off. So that’s why I prefer to have friends that I see on a (somewhat) day-to-day basis because we’re all there in our whole entirety as a human being. And that’s why I prefer the saying, ‘keep your friends close, but your true friends closer.’