A
female
age
30-35,
*nonymous18
writes:Ok, I spend a lot of time on the internet playing online games etc and enjoy chatting to the new people I meet. I am VERY careful as to what I reveal about myself which is not the issue here.My question is whether or not you can have a true friendship with someone you've only ever talked to via messenger?I met a guy on a fansite for an online game. We met in the game and became a kind of team - at first we only talked in the game and we seemed to get along really well - it was a laugh. Frustrated by chat restrictions in this game we exchanged messenger addresses.We proceeded to swap pictures of ourselves and info but he never pressured me for anything.I have now known him over 3 months - the last month we have talked nearly EVERY DAY on messenger and often for several hours at a time.But I have come to learn he keeps his emotions extremely guarded so it is hard to know what he truly thinks of me. I enjoy his company and think of him as a good friend - even though we have never talked over the phone or met - and simply wonder if he thinks of me in the same way?He is also bipolar and has used me as an outlet for his anger on 2 occasions, both times I weathered his rage and after the second time he apologised. Being that he never has said sorry before I thought this was his way of saying he didn't want to lose me as a friend.I'm sorry for rambling on but the relationship between us is very complicated.Basically I want opinions on cyber-friendships, can you truly befriend someone you've never met? Should you?(Also any advice on how to support people suffering from bipolar disorder would be welcome too)Thank you
View related questions:
online game, online gaming, the internet Reply to this Question
Share |
Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (25 August 2008): I agree with Transcowboy. The only really problem with online friendships (though this is the same for pen-pals or phone pals if the distance is far) is if they dissapear, you can't just go round to their house and find out what is wrong. I've had that happen a few times and it hurts
A
male
reader, Transcowboy  +, writes (12 August 2008):
 You can truly be friends with people you never met, I met my best friend in the whole world in a poker chat room about 3 years ago. You would never know that we never met by the way we talk to each other. With some people it doesnt matter how u meet them, its how u get along with them. As for the bipolar thing. Learn as much as you can about it. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
...............................
|
