Are online relationships the same as offline ones?
Lister et al: page 170
Lister at al state that “The interaction formed in the supposedly ‘virtual’ environment has profoundly ‘real world’ consequences for those concerned”. This is suggesting that relationships formed online are no different to those formed IRL; although two people may meet online, they can still have a normal relationship in reality. Andrea Baker has written many papers on the formation and continuation of online relationships and has found many to be as successful and genuine as relationships formed in real life.
Lister et al also suggest that as these relationships that are flourishing as well as relationships do in real life that the dichotomy between the real and the virtual may be false; there isn’t actually any major differences.
I do believe that two people can meet online and become genuine friends or a romantic couple, providing they have met IRL and continue to do so. In this scenario, the internet site / chat room / forum etc was just a meeting point for two like-minded people to get together. I agree a healthy relationship can bloom from this situation. However, it is when the relationship is entirely online with no IRL meetings that I think they are not the same as offline ones. Not getting together in reality means that you can be sure who you’re really talking to, I think in this case it’s a ‘have to see it to believe it’ situation.
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In the first part you talk about relationships in reality, but they met online, do you mean for instance a type of online dating system but sometimes in MUDs? I am confused whether you mean they meet online and then IRL meet up and have a RL relationship or is their relationship a virtual one online?
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