A Guide to the World of Online Friendships

In the digital age, new friends are truly just a click away, and this has only been exacerbated in the pandemic. After everything jumped to being online, there has been a global increase of comfort when it comes to making online friends. 

A Business Wire study shows that, “56% of Gen Z are friends with someone they ONLY know online,” through various forms of social media, video games, and many other platforms. The online phenomenon is nearly unfathomable to older generations who did not grow up using technology in their early school years.

Parents question both the validity and safety of these relationships with what they call “internet strangers,” yet that doesn’t seem to stop Gen Z from creating bonds online.

Personally, my life is filled with internet friends — from various social media, streaming services, and online games — that I will rarely have the prospect of meeting. Yet, I would consider many of these folks my close friends as they are ones who check up on me, support me, and are able to make online friendships entertaining. There are also people attending my same in the fall who I will not meet in person for another five months, yet whom I have already created deep bonds with 100% virtually.

Due to all my online friendships, I have mastered the art of keeping things fun online. Since much of our lives have been online this past year, many of us are familiar with how to entertain ourselves online, so I wanted to share my two favorite activities to do/play with your online friends. 

My first suggestion is Jackbox party packages. They come with a series of crazy fun multiplayer games. Hop on zoom with your friends, share your screen, and let the fun begin. My personal favorites are Drawful 1 and 2, and Quiplash.

It is also fun to create Google Doc quizzes asking questions like, “who is most likely to…” and make your friends fill it out. Go over the results together. It is fun to slowly increase the level of questions as the quizzes progress.

Online friendships are not a rare occurrence, and as the world continues to digitize, online friendships will grow with it. All of the important people in your life may not live in your town, so do not be afraid to branch out further than your city.