We all at some points have been more closer to an online friend than our real-life friends. The world of social media made it easier for us to connect with people from any part of the world. We made these online friends through games, random comments, or social media. We still talk to them regularly and sometimes they know more about us than our real friends.

I remember a time in my life where I was struggling through issues, and I did not want to discuss them with the people around me. So, I messaged my online friends and honestly, they gave me some of the best advice. I also remember talking for hours to some of my online friends about political issues, world debates, random topics, etc. We had way more to talk about than I do with the friends who live near me.

A few reasons why online friends are great:

Trust: It is always easier sharing things with an online friend because they will not gossip around. Real friends tend to share the things we tell them to other people.

Honest: Real-life friends lie sometimes to make us feel good. But online friends mostly tell the truth. If they think a dress is ugly, they will not let you go out wearing it.

Judge: Online friends do not judge us for who we are. We can tell them about our darkest secrets, and they would still be supportive and understanding.

A great place for introverts: starting a conversation through online mediums is less stressful than making real-life friends.

Group chats: There are also various groups for people with similar interests where you can talk to people with similar views.

Flexible: online friends are more flexible compared to real friends. We can reply to online friends after a week and they won’t question us. We can talk whenever we want to without any complications.

Deep conversations: it is easy opening up to online friends in comparison to real friends. We are likely to have more deep conversations with online friends about things like mental illness.

Before you get too comfortable with your online friends make sure to not give them too much information about yourself. You can tell them the city you live in but not the area because it is very easy for people to catfish. We need to be safe and smart while making online friends.

The Internet can be a dark place, with all the hate comments, trolling, and cyber-bullying but it is also a place to connect with genuine people. Sometimes, we connect more to the people living miles away than the ones living near us.

Online friends are great you will get to learn so much about them and the places they are from. It is always fun connecting to new people. You do not have to leave all your real-life friends but once in a while it’s good to connect to people who live miles away from us.