Image generated using AIWhen I was younger, friendship seemed effortless. School, church, and community activities created an avenue where we bonded with one another even without trying. I had friends from primary school, secondary school, and the university, even during my service year, having an addition to my circle from every stage of my life.
It, however, feels different now that I am all grown up. At the office, conversations rarely move beyond small talk. Once I return home, the back-and-forth from work and home leaves no room for new connections like it was when growing up.
Online spaces like Twitter, now X and Facebook have made it possible to meet new people for a long time now, but the relationships I build there often feel weak.
Back then, I built a promising relationship with someone I met on Twitter, but insecurities and doubts kept me from trusting the friendship, and I eventually lost it.
I believe that online connections should only bridge friendship and not be where relationships end; it should be a means to an end but not the destination. True friendship requires shared experience that cannot be achieved online.
The comfort of knowing someone for me beyond the screen beats everything; a physical relationship to me remains the ideal form of relationship. Anything we do online should only come as a complement to the physical relationship.
The advantage that the online connection possesses is that it is very easy to meet another individual online; usually, you are just a swipe away from a new connection or friendship. But one con that we should keep in mind is that the internet is home to all sorts of individuals, and one might be unlucky to fall on the wrong side of it.
With my schedule and a way to avoid awkwardness, I love meeting people online. I have known online to form a connection with others only when I have something in common with them, like being in the same class, school, church or a group. It used to be very awkward for me, and rarely has it happened that I sparked a conversation with a stranger in a strange environment.
I have met people online, made friends online, and even had an online relationship. Comparing this connection with a physical one, it is almost impossible to say that a physical relationship is unnecessary. The internet should only be a medium through which one meets like-minded people; it should not be the end of physical relationships. Online relationships aid physical relationships, not end them.
Despite being reserved and somewhat introverted, I still like going out and sharing experiences with the people I have in my life. Sometimes, there is not much fun in an online relationship without a physical one. A physical relationship, I believe, is better than an online relationship, and the online should only complement the physical, no matter what.
A friendship is like a garden; we don’t just plant it and let it be; we tend to it every day by watering it, weeding, and doing all sort of necessary things that keeps it alive. Friendship requires the physical to grow more naturally.
My name is @rishagamo, and this is my response to the Hive Learners weekly featured prompt, week 235 episode 01, titled: "ONLINE FRIENDS"
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