Cyber friendships and their impact on your life

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Yesterday morning a 68 year old man died in a hospice in Wisconsin, after a six month battle with oesophageal cancer. I had never met him in person, but had interacted with him regularly via a message board and chat room for the past two years, plus the occasional phone call. He was a good man – kind, thoughtful, interesting and funny, always ready to listen to people’s problems and to offer practical advice. He will be missed by many people, in real life and online.

This is the first time that I have experienced the loss of an internet acquaintance and his death has made me very sad, despite the fact his 'friendship' was really no more than just words on a screen. Part of me is a bit surprised by just how much the newsof his death has affected me, I guess.

Maybe we could use this thread to talk about what you think about internet friendships and how they have impacted on your lives – good or bad.

― C J (C J), Friday, 7 November 2003 09:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I think if they have made a positive (or indeed negative) impact on your life then it is perfectly understandable to be affected at this kind of news. There are some ppl on this board who I would be devastated if something happened to them. Others would be sad but not affect me greatly & some that I'm sad to say, would probably not bother me at all. This is not because I am cold, it's more that there are so many ppl on this board that I have never conversed with & although I can feel sorry that something happened to them, I couldn't feel that sad about it.
I feel that i could make some really good friendships with some of the ppl on this board & I hope someday I get the chance, but sometimes it's difficult to have that much of a relationship with someone on the board. I guess if you are phoning & aiming all the time then that is different.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Friday, 7 November 2003 09:41 (twenty-two years ago)

There's at least one person here who I've never met who I feel very close to, and I care about as if we've been friends for ages. It doesn't feel the same as friendships beyond the web, in that I really have no idea how solid it is, how well it might carry forward, that kind of thing, but it means as much to me.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 7 November 2003 18:08 (twenty-two years ago)

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