The experts forecast that the world will witness another Covid-19 outbreak in January 2023. There are fair possibilities of another phase of lockdown, surgical masks, and home isolation.
Did it make you remember the quarantine period of 2020 and 2021? It was when we were all introduced to work from home, Dalgona coffee, and online friendship.
The pandemic was gone, but the craze of making online friends through several online chatting apps and sites didn’t fade away. Now, the most relevant question is – how does this online friendship work? Is it as reliable as friendships in real life?
Let’s find out the answer today.
The psychology behind making online friends during the pandemic:
As we compromised with so many socializing activities in our own lockdown life, several of us had been establishing ties with virtual supporting hands. As many of us felt the need to develop a comfort zone at our home ourselves or a greater variety of social and emotional support alternatives, some also looked to the enormous pool of online support possibilities.
One of our first reactions in a crisis may be to ask for our support. Humans naturally build and rely on social support networks, and the internet has allowed us to connect with individuals worldwide and share our experiences throughout 2020 and 2021.
Because of our crisis, some of these relationships may have “heated up.” We can be unsure of our capacity to sustain these deep relationships and our interest in preserving them when we start adjusting to the new routines we’re entering.
What do we need to build a friendship?
Several requirements must be met for a connection to qualify as a friendship. These include reciprocity, affinities, and respect between people. In the best conditions, friendship offers the same primary function as family relationships: offering support. But friendships are unique because they are entirely choice connections; you can’t force someone to like you or want to interact with you socially if they don’t want to.
Shared interests, proximity, or everyday activities are the three most typical “motivating elements” for friendship growth. Nevertheless, we also frequently use factors like someone’s status, values, and similarities to ourselves to gauge the future value of a new buddy.
The best part is: dark secrets are safe with online friends.
Another advantage of having a video call with online pals is the freedom we experience when sharing information with someone we are unlikely to ever meet in person because we won’t feel guilty or embarrassed in the future. It’s comparable to the readiness to divulge more private information to people in clogged elevators or haphazard, fleeting connections that form over a trip or summer camp.
There is more anonymity and less worry about what other people think of you. We won’t be reminded of our vulnerability and intimate confessions because we will not likely see this individual frequently.
The best way to confess a dark secret is to share it with those we can never interact with again if we choose.
