Making friends in real life can be quite a challenge, and many of us are left with feelings of anxiety over socializing face-to-face. When we enter the virtual world, we often think that things will be easier, since we are hidden behind a screen. Sometimes, this is the case, but often, the anxiety still sets in, and we are left to put ourselves out there. Even though Second Life is virtual, it is massive. However, I personally have met some of the most amazing people in my 13 years here, and they have become some of my closest friends in both the real world and the virtual one. Online friendships definitely have their pros and cons, and this week I got to speak with several incredible people who were able to give me their take on friendships in a virtual world.

Fire: “You get to meet people, and know people from around the world. One of the cons of this is that you make really great friends, but then you can’t hang out with them in real life. It is easier to walk away from people in the virtual world. You can be who or whatever you want to be, but still be yourself at the same time.”

Hexlais: "I think virtual friendships are cool. They allow you to meet people from around the world and from different walks of life. You can also make lifelong friends, which I think is awesome. I would say the cons are, at any point in time something could happen to said friend, and you'd never know about it. Also, sometimes people are two-faced and hide behind their avatar and use it as an excuse to hurt others."

Porta: "Virtual Friendship.

Pros:

Exposure to other walks of life

Distance doesn't matter

Easier to find and engage with those of similar interests

Accessibility is significantly easier for those less able bodied

Cons:

Timezones

Differing opinions of the importance of time available

Disappearances

The lack of a tactile engagement

Potential for furthering people moving to become hermits.

Overall thoughts:

I think in the world we move to where more and more things are online, the idea of virtual friendship is one that will come further and further into fruition. Perhaps not understood fully by the older generations but the ability to connect and develop deep meaningful friendships through a virtual environment has been exceptionally helpful to developing and understanding more about myself. The plethora of life experience at hand that otherwise would not be possible or as easily attainable without a medium such as a virtual world, is astounding. So many life stories and discussions are possible at just a few clicks and I think it builds a wonderful community and connections."

Darvynious: "The pros of virtual friendship is that most of the time it is relatively simple and easy to make friends in this world with the access point being as simple as a button press. Virtual friendships can easily carry over into real life or other platforms if the connection is strong enough. There is also the aspect of time where in online friendships not much time commitment is required to maintain an online friendship.

The cons of virtual friendships is that at times those friendships can easily vanish just as quickly as they started, but it depends on the person and their levels of dependency. People in the virtual world may linger here a little too long and sometimes it can do more harm than good especially when some people can spend most of their lives here and have a very little grasp on time, reality, and important events going by as they get too absorbed in the world...but in some cases they may also expect the same commitment from you. In some cases, people will believe they are not good enough for you if you are not online as much as they are. While it is a con to have to communicate at times it is mainly due to the strain of most people not wanting to establish casual conversation unless the conversation is brought to them first, but this can be changed over time as you learn habits and learn new perspectives from making these online virtual friendships."

Louis: "Pros, I'd say is being online is less intrusive to your life, you can log off SL whenever you want, no need to drive over to a friend's house then have to drive back, etc. You can also play games like SL or other games through a console or computer.

Cons I'd say, is you sometimes need to hang out together, get to see the person face to face to establish a stronger connection with someone, go to a bar together and drink, go watch a movie, introduce your friend to some of your other friends face to face. there is only so much you can do over the internet. and I think eventually it's cool to meet the person face to face."

No matter who we are, friendships are crucial to human life. It is important for our mental health, as well as for developing social skills. I think the main thing we can all take away from this poll, is that it doesn't matter if the friendship is face-to-face, or virtual, we still grow to know and care for these people either way. It doesn't matter if we are separated by a screen. Humans need and crave interaction, and in virtual worlds like Second Life, that is what makes us feel a connection to the world we have created here. So for those of you reading, remember: even if it may seem intimidating, there are people out there who are waiting to meet someone like you, and you might just make a friend for life!