Is it normal to cry over a stranger?

It is an age of technology. Most of us have a computer, or a laptop, a mobile phone etc.
A lot of us are on social media and sites such as this one.
I joined this site over 5 years ago, and over the course of two years I had made some very good friends, people who were strangers in a sense, but really I’d call a friend since they did help you and accept you and genuinely cared about you. Amazing people.
Anyways, my question is, are people we interact with online on a regular basis really strangers? And if they are, would the death or disappearance of one mean that you wouldn’t be moved? Or would you cry your eyes out for a human being whom you never met, but who’s heart and soul you grew to know?
Also hello to the oldies who remember me <3