What do you think of making friends over the internet?
@Joshms: My opinion? Well, I think you and all my other contacts are proof that I have *no* problem with making friends with people on the internet. Just as you have no idea if the person you're talking to on the internet is a crazy murderer, you have no idea if the person living across the street from you is a murderer as well. Does that mean you should completely avoid any confrontations with every human in the world by the chance that they might want to hurt you? I know all about "stranger danger", but I think I've made pretty certain on a lot of you guys that you are who you say you are. And I'm not careless either, though. There *have* been people I've met online that I've been creeped out by and blocked. Onetime some guy on formspring asked for a picture of me, someone I'd never seen before, so I blocked him and deleted his question question. Running out of characters...
What is the best way to start a conversation?
The art of conversation may be difficult for people who are thinkers and not talkers. Many people have a certain thought process that analyzes everything first and then reacts. This causes problems with socialization (and is one reason math/engineering geeks always seem to be on the social outskirts at college). One of the best ways to overcome this mental roadblock is to take a speech class. Many community colleges offer them for very cheap even to adults who never went to college. Why attend a speech class you ask? First and foremost- it teaches you to think on your feet. Striking up a conversation is not about 'what' is the right thing to say, but just saying what is on your mind, and beginning a flow of communication between you and another person. If you can learn how to open up this channel between you and an audience, you will become very adept at opening it with another person. I took a year of speech and saw introverted guys with zero communication skills turn into talented orators- and even more talented conversationalists. That's my best advice to you. Good luck!
Have you ever had an online relationship?
When I was 12 I had a Moshi Monsters boyfriend :P how lame I was..... But other than that I really don't like having online friends.....I talk to all if you but out in the open, ive emailed a couple people but never had a conversation, I'm very careful about that stuff. You never know....I do trust all of you lol, there's too much proof that most of the regulars are just bored teens, plus nobody on here gets personally :) its all just chat. But this is the only social site I go on because its not a chat site and those freak me out....especially since I've been watching To Catch A Predator lol....
How do I know if my friends are online on Instagram, and chatting with someone?
Jan 18, 2018. Update - looks like Instagram changed it’s privacy policy.You are now able to see ‘last active’ or ‘online’ status directly for certain people. I say certain because it doesn’t show up for all the people you follow or the people who follow you.It just shows active or active x minutes/hours ago for people you have DMd (Direct Messaged):(image source: screenshot taken by my phone)Now, I don’t know if this is some kind of test, or will they implement it for good and on all platforms, but it showed up this morning in my DMs (Instagram for iOS 11).Looks like it doesn’t show up for people you recently had conversation with (>8 hours ago). And it looks like it doesn’t show up for people who have been offline more than a day. Also, there is no way you can tell what are they doing at the moment if they are active (unless they show up on the ‘Following’ tab), or if they are chatting with someone. It is fresh and I expect some changes over time.Personally, this is a big blow to privacy. Instagram has always been my heaven where I go and hide when I don’t feel like socializing, where nobody can see I am active. But, looks like those days are gone.
How do you start a text chat conversation with someone you don't really know?
So ultimately if it’s a girl she’s going to think you’re coming on to her…… a guy is Gunna want to know what you want. Make sure….. if it’s a come on that they haven’t got a partner, else their defences will go up even if they’re not happy in the relationship. Don’t talk about how lucky they are to afford expensive things….. or ask to join them next time. A friend should be a friend for them, not what they can do for you!Text something like…..’ I saw you were asking about…… holiday pay….. I wasn’t sure myself, what did they say? I saw you checked out a book on history…… I found it really heavy, maybe that’s just me? How did you find it? I saw you in Zara…… (women’s clothe shop) it’s my sisters birthday, I want to really treat her but I’m useless!!!…..you seem to have a similar style…… any ideas? I heard you went to the Turks and Caicos islands…. Wow!! What did you think? Friends have said it’s really expensive, what do you think?None of these questions are too personal but to ask a persons educated and knowledgeable opinion puts them in a position of trust and confidence. Also by putting yourself in a ‘needy’ position they will feel obligated to help.
Would you dump your online friend when ......?
It doesn't matter if that girl doesn't look like a barbie doll in real life! Does looking below average change the fact that she is a really great person to hang out with? Would you want to lose a good friend at the end of the day? REAL friends are hard to find!!! Hold onto them when you run into one. Looks will be gone one day in all women. What will remain is their brains, their behavior, their kindness. Respect that, and you will see that more and more people respect you for being yourself. As for her avatar...she said she looked like that because she was insecure and thought she would lose her "friends" if they knew she was not that pretty! And the guys who have started ignoring her...better for her. She doesn't need "friends" like that. But one thing is for sure...she is one courageous lady who decided to show people her rl pic. It takes a LOT to do that!!!
How would you feel if your online friend turned out to be ugly?
Suppose you met an opposite sex friend online (on a mmorpg for example). You really like talking to each other and after a few months you decide to exchange pictures and he/she turns out to be ugly or fat or just not of your taste. How would you feel and what would you do? Would you still continue on with your plan to meet in person or would you change your mind because of the looks?
Forgetting someone you met online?
So I will start with saying that I have played some online games and met people through those games mostly who I still talk with today on messengers mostly (some of the friends I have online have been friends for over 3 years, some more recent). I do live my life happily off the internet and have friends that I can get along well with (though sadly I find it more difficult to talk about more personal things with my friends in reality than online), though I also go online, generally at night, to communicate with my online friends. My problem is that I have one friend whom I've known for about 5 years or so on the internet who I can't seem to forget about completely. I don't think about him as often as I used to and certainly not every day, but I find it hard to completely forget about him and maybe more specifically how amazing I find him to be in terms of personalities that I've come across so far in my life. I have a pretty good feeling that he's similar in reality yet would never know this for sure because I only know him online (I've never seen his picture or spoken with him either). I can't help shaking the feeling that one day I'd love to meet him by chance and it's sort of painful thinking about him even after speaking to guys I know in reality... and finding that he's still much more pleasant to speak with. He hasn't been online much recently and his visits are pretty spaced out anyway so I'm pretty clueless as to why I still find myself thinking about him sometimes.I am currently about to turn 17 and he is about 3 years older than me. He's never shown any interest in getting my personal information or even seeing what I look like (although I've shown him) and he's basically just a really fun guy to talk to about school, life, family, thoughts and other topics of interest. He is definitely not a sexual predator, I wouldn't ever consider him a liar, and although I'm sure plenty of people would love to repeat those things to me over and over... please don't. I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for in terms of answers but I'd like to hear thoughts on this situation if anyone has had any similar experiences.... I don't think I want to forget about him and yet thinking about him is pretty painful sometimes. Any advice that I can use on this?