Constant communication
Availability
I don’t really have much offline friends. I’m very socially anxious so making friends online is easier. But it’s also easier to “hang out” with online friends and keep in more frequent contact because I’m not stressing about leaving my house to go hang out.
more closely shared interests
Learning about other countries, can talk to them at any hour of the night, can accidentally ignore them for a week and they don't get mad
I can be more open bc I don’t have to worry about rumors being spread about me
Able to express myself better without verbal communication
I can be more open and honest with them and not fear being judged
I have one main online friend who I met on Tumblr 6 years ago, we’ve met in real life only once. The reason we’ve stayed friends so long is because we are both always on our phones, so we text and share links/photos with each other every day. A lot of my offline friends aren’t so active with messaging, since we see each other in person anyway.
Easy to socialize with, conversations can happen over time instead of immediately in person
We can spend time together without me leaving my home or letting others into my home
Able to discuss things with them That I can’t with rl friends. Mostly internet culture or talking about rl friends without fear of it getting back to rl friends.
Niche common interests, no preconceptions from mutual acquaintances
Common interests in the digital world
Easier to find people I relate to (LGBTQ)
It’s easier to talk to them about things in my life that they're not involved in themselves, which provides some impartiality and confidentiality. I also don’t have to worry about them talking to other people involved and can more or less control the narrative as terrible as that sounds
Shared interests
Umconditional emotional support and appreciation
They provide perspectives and serve interests not found in my immediate, physical, set of friends.
they are always enthusiastic about playing games with me