I belong to a private group of atheists on FB . Never met any of them in person . They're like family to me .

Occasionally. A majority, definitely not. But I have made a friend I talk to a the time at a distance. He is even friends with another friend of mine. We have a group chat, it's fun. I hope to meet him in person one day, but totally not required.

Only because I haven't met any yet.

I have made some great friendships online. I met quite a few of them in person and some I have never met in person, but continue to chat with. A good way to meet good friends online is to meet in an online social group (preferably a local one).

I have a few folks that I consider good friends from various parts of the world (Holland, Belgium, England, Scotland, and Australia) that I've talked/typed to for years that I'll likely never meet in person. But yes, we are still really good friends.

Yes. If people can have an imaginary friend who supposedly died 2000 years ago, I can have friends who really exist and I have interactions with.

Let me tell you about Mohammed. He is a young man in Egypt. We are separated by so much-different cultures, different languages, different rules of life.

And he is one of the best friends I have ever had. His loyalty and kindness are unwavering, and we have shared with each other our sorrows and joys for over 10 years. I doubt we will ever meet face-to-face.

Friendship is something you feel in your heart. And physical presence, while desirable, is not necessary.

Real friendships take time. Friends are people you know. They are people you spend real time together, experience each others hitches and glitches, are actually there for each other in times of crisis. Otherwise they are aquantances. To call someone a friend when you don't even know if they posted their own real picture or what their real full name is seems just as hit and miss as a faith in any religion.

Maybe its me hitting midlife and remembering too much, not just of my own experiences but of those around me as well. Maybe its this current social and political climate getting ot me. All I know is I have no trouble putting words on a website, my own words. I like to think other people will always be as honest without being nasty about it.

Friendship? No, aquaintances with a possibility of friendship down the line, absolutely.

I’ve met probably more than 100 people in real life who I met online first....generally because of my travels and my work. 4 of my best friendships ever started on MySpace and then to Facebook with me meeting all of them in person along the way. They continue to this day and one will visit me this summer for 2 weeks.

They are online friends

Not sure as some people have a different personality online

Not so much for me but I can see where it would be a benefit to people with social anxiety issues, communication problems or even an inability to get out

I sure hope so.

Not for me. You don't have to make any sacrifices for an on line friend. You don't have to lay your aas on the line for them, or take care of them when they really need you. A real friend is someone l can look in the eye or hear that thing in their voice that lets me know they really care.

Being in touch with people online does allow you to get to know some aspects of their lives and personalities and when I have actually gone out and met them face to face they do become real friends, so as strange as it seemed to me to have friends online without having ever met them it seems that they are real friends even before we actuaally met.