There's a shift in how people treat one another and I believe we all know it, even if we don't necessarily put it on record, With today's technology it is now possible to maintain a full social life without leaving your house, you can have a number of people that you talk to daily, people who know your business, people who could cheer on your successes, or people who could check on you if you go silent and you may not have any of them nearby you, and seriously this has been a life changing situation for many, particularly introverts, The pressure of physical social interaction, the exhaustion of being in rooms full of people, the performance of it all, the internet removed a lot of that and replaced it with something that actually feels more comfortable and more honest for many people.
I don't think we should dismiss that. Online friendships are very real, the support they offered is genuine, the conversations are authentic, what you share with someone does not necessarily have to be shallow because you've never been in the same room with them, some individuals have discovered the closest of friends on the web, those that comprehend them in a manner those around them in actuality never ever really did, it is no small deal.... And that is a very fine thing to be thankful for!
But here is where I think we need to be careful, and this is the part that I keep coming back to when I think about this honestly.... when it comes to real life, the kind that involves your business, your livelihood, your day to day survival in the physical world, online friendships have a very clear limit, and that limit becomes obvious the moment you actually need something that requires presence.....
Take for example, say you are a new entrepreneur, someone has to come and help you out to set up these things, you will need referral from others network to help your business grow, you need to have someone who can testify for you in a place that you are not recognized, when you are in desperate need of cash and you must wait for an invoice to be paid, you need somebody to lend money to you, At that time, where are your internet buddies? Can those who like all your posts, voice note you at midnight, know your entire story appear physically when you need them? In most cases, no and not because they don't care but because they are not here. Geography is real. Distance is real.
The is the pitfall that I think matters the most, It is not as if the online relationships are bogus, but rather they are restricted in a very specific and practical way, They can keep your emotions but they cannot always hold your hand, they can motivate you but they cannot always slide you a key to the door in the real world, but despite all the changes the internet may have brought about, it is not where most of the important things in life actually happen, it is the physical world.
There's also the thought that comes of investing in an online connection so much that you neglect to invest in the real one, you don't go out, you don't go to events, you don't go to places where contacts are formed, but those relationships, the ones that are formed at a table, or through a handshake, or through a natural conversation in the flesh, still have a different kind of power in some places, Business needs to operate on trust, and in many circumstances, trust is still fostered by the physical closeness and shared experience.
The real question is whether we're sacrificing something valuable for something convenient? Comfort is not synonymous with growth, Introverts in particular should be aware that they are using online friendships as a means to connect, or as a means to not connect, because it would otherwise be uncomfortable to reach out and start real world relationships that would be more beneficial for them in some aspect of life.
Both can exist. Relationships online and in real life are not mutually exclusive. However, they are not the same and it is not possible to interchange them.
Create an online community, Treasure those friendships, but build at the same time in real life, because when life gets serious and there's something that needs to be done, you want people who can be there.
Image Generated with Chatgpt