I have experienced some wonderful relationships on this very site-hoping to meet others in New England.

I agree with a caveat; it need not just be digital. I know for a fact meaningful relationships can be formed through letters or phone calls (or a combination of all three). My late partner and I formed such a relationship after 2 months on the phone. The bond was so strong it was the thing that kept the relationship going after the fickle 'chemistry' thing tried to pull us apart after finally meeting.

I am able to maintain friends from the past through letters and e-mails even though I will probably never see them again. I have also been in failed relationships and I sometimes wonder if those relationships could have been kept were we not to have been physically together.

I recently found a Myers-Brigg analysis of myself done some 20 years ago. I was shocked how much was right. The one thing that shocked me most was my need for some alone time. I had a deep resentment on others placing burdens on my time. With my last relationship that had changed some but the basic premise was true.

I frequently question would such a future relationship be possible. Probably more yes than no. I think the bonding within this site proves the validity of your question.

I feel online people tend to portray a very self-conscious, manicured, idealized, bloodless version of themselves. In person people betray more of their humanity, and it allows for more natural, nuanced, and lasting impressions. You can just tell so little about a person from a few posts, a profile or an avatar. I have a hard time connecting deeply, because it's so easy (and probable) for the other person to disappear forever at a whim.

Hmmm... i don't know about that for ( ME ). I need to experience most of the basic senses to have a love relationship. I can flatter a profile of someone all day long, but that's about it for me. Nothing more than words and an illusion. There's no harm in feeling something for a person or a group. Where do you what to take this relationship? I couldn't settle for not knowing the real sight of that person I think I'm falling in love with. To get caught up in an on line love relationship would be over my head. It's to easy to meet people anywhere and everywhere. For every person out there looking for a love relationship. Theres a million people waiting for you to talk to them. It may take months to get there. You eventually will.

The question doesn’t ask if they can be equal to IRL relationships; it just asks if they can be meaningful. I take “relationship” here to mean any kind, not just romantic.

Agree, though I still prefer face time.

Yes, I have really good friends all around the world. Will more than likely never meet them, but we are pretty close. In the Arpanet days, it wasn't what people claimed to be, but the substance of what they said. I often claimed to be a 3'6" Hermaphroditic little person with a lisp and a club foot...this was before Twin Peaks...in truth, I am 3'8 1/2"...FOOLED THEM!!! But seriously, in our descriptions, when our group chose to give them, we all told the truth...the whole 'shame the devil' (the devil being the Arpanets, Fidonets WWIV nets), as that truth was the novelty. I maintain that now. Fortunately, I have lived an interesting life and don't need to embellish. But I don't hold it against people who do. If we are going to meet, though you might wanna come clean or at least yell,"Surprise!" when I meet you....hehe...

Yes its possible,but you have to be careful people are not always what they claim to be.That said it can be the case with people you befriend in real life.

Disagree. I want to meet them face to face.

Personally a relationship still needs personal regular contact... digital contact can be fun and you can make lots of virtual friends but never a substitute for face to face... others might think differently that's ok. In the end it is what ever works for you... Happy connecting

Agree. Some of my favorite people in the world I've never met in person.

Absolutely. Intellectual exchange and emotional vulnerability are possible online and are the real building blocks of friendship. Finding it is rare, but I think it is easier to recognize on the internet than the real world, since those closeted jerks are completely “out of the closet “ online, those freaking peacocks. The tonal shift in that last sentence is not rare on the internet, so I’d rather “meet people online” than when they are being subtle jerks.

I disagree... to me, meeting in person is real and so much more than meeting in the digital space. Their presence, the touch and every little expression is captured if you're paying attention in the present of now. A hug can provide a real benefit to your health (I read it somewhere) and the digital space can't just do it. It's like going to a concert and feeling the high emotion of the crowd versus listening to music by yourself at home... alone.

I agree as I fell in love on the internet whatever that means or cared the most out of any woman anyway before we even met. it was amazing and real but other factors conspired against us so I'm single. we lived together etc by the way but I guess we both had too much baggage that didn't work together.

If we are talking about friendships, sure. Not a whole lot rides on a friendship, the risk is relatively low. If we are talking romantic, well sure. But I would be a lot more careful. People can hide a lot with the filter of the internet. (not that they can't in real life, but it becomes easier with distance)

I believe what makes an individual your friend is what you have in common not where it is that you live and the majority of my FB friends I've never met and most often times the only one's I relate to or speak with and in this day and age the distance between friends is only as far as the screen from your eyes...

Agree.

I have kept in touch with a few digital friends now for the better part of a decade, and feel they are true friends, though we are never likely to meet. In some cases, I know more about them than some of my geographically accessible friends.

Agree.