How to Maintain Online Friendship

It is not new for us to admit that in this time of rush and economic problems, we can go and share our problems and thoughts more often with our online friends.
Who are they, online friends?
Usually online friends are people who we know in our real life, but because we are so busy we rarely go out and meet them as we used to, it is easier for us to change some words using chat rooms, taking a break being at work. Another category of online friends is people who we never met in our real life but these online friends began to play a significant place in our life.
Speaking about my own experience (about 3 years), I would like to divide people I met online into different categories of people. Let me add that I met them by chance, being a member of social networking (publishing) websites (Facebook, MySpace, Shoutlife, Scribd, etc.) or online games like There.com, Second Life.com or IMVU.com some years ago. It is very similar to finding friends at school or work. People put some effort into looking for people who are interested in the same things as you or know the same people you do and work to create a connection.

It is very easy to meet someone interesting online. Give it a chance and make your life more enriched by new experience. It is really worth to give it a try.

Let me continue with different types of people I met online.
First of all, being a woman, I was always contacted by men who are sexually obsessed and have no other interest than this.
Secondly, there is another type of people who are alone or do not have a family near, a health problem or not too many friends in real life and they would like to find some people online who will not judge them for their appearance or social status, who will accept them as they are with their inner amazing world. Sometimes this kind of people will find an advice and words of encouragement only from their online friends. So, they can look at you as their savior.
Thirdly, another kind of people, who have everything but are bored by their real lives. They need someone who will give them something new. Here we can mention another way of thinking, new cultures, new approaches to everything usual for them.

I made some good online friends from the two last categories. We were brought together by common interests (work, music, reading, sports, etc.) and do hope that our friendship will be lasting. The most important thing we don't share our personal information and I really thankful to my online friends for not insisting on that.

I would love to recommend some tips to maintain your online friendship:

First of all, if you have started spending some time online with your potential online friends, remember to do your part (i.e. initiating some of the activities, watching a movie online together, singing a karaoke song, remembering birthdays, asking how the other person is feeling).

Be a friend who is always prepared to listen to. Many people think that in order to be seen as good online friend they have to appear very interesting. Far more important than this, however, is the ability to show that you're interested in others. Listen carefully to what people say, remember important details about their likes and dislikes, ask questions about their interests, and if you wish just take the time to learn more about your online friends.

Be there. Part of being an online friend is being prepared to make some sacrifices of your precious time and energy in order to encourage your online friends when they need that.

Choose your online friends wisely and cherish those friends who make a positive influence in your life, and do your best to be a positive influence in theirs.

Online dating has become an increasingly popular tool to find friends and even partners, but there are a lot advantages and disadvantages of online dating. So be careful when look for the great love on the Internet.

I would love to end with an amazing quote about friendship that can be appropriate to the topic about online friends:

"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth."