I dont know, I only have 3 friends and 2 of those are online. I can see my "offline" friens irl but other than that I talk to my online friends more and I sometimes video chat or play with them which I dont do with my irl friend
They are more distant from happenings around here and can offer a way more neutral perspective than any personally involved person ever could
Talking/being social (online)/being engaging during this pandemic
I'm not sure. Unique life stories I haven't heard before and a wider perspective on the world (since I've only lived in one small town my entire life)
no judgement since you can be yourself without having to worry about looks or social status etc
Not much
Partial anonymity lets me be more open about personal issues that I might have trouble talking about face-to-face.
No connection to my every day life
able to play games that irl friends cant
??
Attention, very specific interests
We all live in the same area, so there's no distinct difference
I share more of the same interests with my online friends
Anonymity, can text them whenever and tell them whatever, can talk every day and then not for months, they are very different to me culturally and in their life stage
Availability at all hours due to time zones, shared specific interests,
I don't have offline friends, so...
Simple chatting about interesting or personal stuff within the context of my country of origin
I can talk to them more frequently and share things that I normally have to keep secret
N/A I see them as the same
Disconnected from social circles