Are Virtual Friends Real Friends?

As I am reading Stephen Wellman’s post “Do Online Social Network Lead to More Real Friendships?” I ponder more deeply on what I myself had been musing about on and off about the so called ‘friends’ on these social networking sites. There are people who have maxed out on their Facebook limit and have about 5000 friends. Now are these 5000 people actual friends or more of an acquaintance who they met somewhere or a friends friend? What about the old quote “A friend in need is a friend indeed” and would all of these online friends fall under that category?

Social networking sites sure help in networking both on a professional and personal basis but they do not build a chummy kind of friendship, they are more of a feel good creators. It is true that most people have anywhere from one to five real good friends including their siblings and spouses with whom they can open up and be themselves and really that is what is needed to keep an emotional balance- someone who listens to you.

These online communication tools help one keep in touch and create a network of acquaintances but do not build a friendship. Friendship is based on emotions and being there aspect and normally even with real close friends if we haven’t kept in touch for a while then the closeness wears off and often it gets reignited when we meet in person again.