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E-friendship

How many of you have friends whom you first interacted with in a social medium? Not someone who went to the same school as you, or worked at the same company, or lived in your neighbourhood at some point in time, but someone who was in no way related to you or your world.

A lot of people react negatively to the thought of befriending strangers on the internet. But had the same person been in their social circle due to some coincidence, they would have had no hesitation in befriending them. It has got me wondering as to why this discrimination exists.

Today, social media is taking centre stage in several aspects of our daily lives. It is defining the way we interact with our favourite brands and celebrities, the way we interact with our friends, they way we share what we like. It is especially true for those who travel often, and for those who move from city to city as a result of a transferable job or education or any other reason. When a huge part of our lives have shifted online, why are people so hesitant to meet new people online?

One reason that comes to my mind is that they can be hostile. 'How can you become friends with someone who you don't even know and haven't even met?'. Well, I used to buy that argument until a few months ago. Not anymore! Ever since Facebook addressed the privacy concerns of its users, it is easy enough to do a background check on the person you're about to interact with.

If Facebook still sounds a creepy place to meet new people, a much better place to do so would be to start and maintain a public blog. This has a higher probability of meeting people who match your interests as they are the ones who contact you after reading what you had to say and finding it interesting.

Friends you make over social media are more like pen pals from the olden days. You might seldom meet them but they're a part of your life nevertheless.

I simply do not see how the same people who try to deck up their blogs and social profiles in an effort to get noticed and possibly hired for a job, look down upon people who do the same thing to meet new people who might not turn out to be their future employers.

With our schedules getting busier by the day, having a life on the web is does not seem like a bad idea at all to me.

What's your take on making e-friends?

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