CFFs: Cyber friends forever

Over the past decade, friendships have changed greatly. Making friends over the internet has become the norm, not the exception despite this generation growing up learning the dangers of social media.  Everyone seems to be on some sort of device, and it is difficult for parents to monitor their children, now more than ever. Their pages are left unprotected for the world to see because now it seems the more followers, the better, even if you do not know them.

Growing up in an era of technology, my mom did not let me have any social media until I turned twelve. She warned me constantly about the dangers of talking to strangers. And for awhile, I followed that rule, and I only spoke to people I knew. But when I had just turned fourteen, I met a girl on Twitter, and what I did not know is that she would be one of my best friends a year later.

I tell my friend Emma everything, and even with our time difference, we manage to make room in our schedules to vent about the horrors of life. Internet friends offer a great, unbiased point-of-view on tricky situations. I have gotten some of my best advice from Emma, and we work through tough times together. Having someone to lean on is important, and whether you have met them in person or not, you can share a close connection.

In a 2015, Pew Research Center conducted a survey that showed over half of teens have met a new friend online. Twenty-nine percent of teens have made more than five friends over the internet. Whether parents like it or not, at a young age kids are making friends over the internet. It could be through Facebook (do kids even use that?), Instagram, Twitter, or online video games. Despite common belief, many teens are aware of the dangers of the internet and know how to handle themselves. Not all people are catfish, and if they were, teens are actually good at spotting the signs. It is highly likely that social media will actually lead to a nice friend and not a creep.

I am not saying go out and share all of your personal information on the internet to the first person you meet. That is very far from what I believe in, and I am aware not all people online have good intentions. I am saying that as a person with personal experience in online friendships, they are not all evil. It is not weird. Many of the people on the internet today have grown up with technology and can read people online very well. The way the internet is advancing, we have to open up and experience new ways to do things, like meet friends. The world is changing, and we have to change with it.