Internet relationship: How to know the person on the other side of the line.

The world is fast becoming a global village and it seems there is nothing we can do about it so we have to move along as things change. Internet relationship is one of the ideas of the world becoming a global village so that distance cannot stop us from talking to old friends or making new friends. However it is fact that some people are afraid of making new friends online because they do not know the person on the other side of the wire. No wonder someone said when talking about facebook friendship and other social sites, “I do not like people sending friend requests to people they do not know. That is why I do not accept friend request from someone I do not know.” He may be right and some people share similar view and they want to send or receive friend requests to only those they know and nothing more.

Then we can ask or wonder if the internet world is made for us to only communicate with those we know or to share our ideas with the rest of the world and make friends if we can. Well the answer will depend on why we are online. That is are you there to make friends, move along with people and exchange ideas. Some people are afraid to accept new friends because they do not really know such people. Well I trust that those of us that are online for the purpose of reaching out to others and making friends with those that share in our mission and vision will not be afraid to welcome such friends no matter where they are in the world.

How to know the person on the other side of the line:

1) You start by reading the profile of people before you decided to add or accept their friend. That is why there is a profile section. How many of you read profiles of people?

2) If the profile is not there or you are not satisfied with what you read, then you can ask question via inbox message

3) Check if you have a friends in common with the person

4) Check the person’s activities and interests.

The best option is usually to start a chat or discussion with the person on the other side of line and that makes introduction easier and you can get to know the person faster. I realize that although I have many online friends but only those that have sent me mails, chats or had a direct person exchange with me are closer to me and most of them freely join my discussions. I can vividly recall that at a point in my life I thought I am the only person in the world that understands the need for religious tolerance and why we have to teach religious unity and peace. This is because nobody around me shared my few so I wondered how I can face the world alone but I was not afraid to stand and face the world. It was when I came online and expressed my stand, vision, and mission that I realized that many people share similar view and most of them are my friends today. I would still be alone and standing alone if I did not welcome friends or make friends online. Some people found their life partner via the internet and that is why I often tell people that every friendship has a beginning and some friendship marked its beginning on the internet. Yes some friendship started online, on the internet world before it got to the physical world.

I am glad that today my best friends include those that I met on the internet. I have exchanged phone calls and skype calls with some of them and lots of inbox messages. Some of them gave me opportunities and connections on how to reach out to more people while some encouraged me to hold on. I would not have known that they exist or that they are out there, at the other side of the line if I was afraid to make new internet friends.