Re: Online Friends Are Real Friends

A few days ago I booked my flights to not only attend a professional event, but also visit and stay with one of my best friends next month. This will be the sixth time that at least one of us has traveled to hang out with the other. We met each other online six years ago via Reddit (and to some degree, Instagram back when I still had an account) simply through shared interests. Never in my life did I suspect I would befriend someone online to such a degree that they feel like a true brother to me. I liked Absurd Pirate's post because it made me reflect on my own online friendships, which are so important to me. First of all, I don't consider just anyone who talks to me as my friend. There's a solid difference between acquaintances and friends, and there are other platonic dynamics that exist somewhere in between those two labels. I certainly have both online and in-person contacts with whom I look forward to interacting on occasion either via phone call or at a café to catch up. And…