How do you find true human connection online?

As someone who has met multiple lovers/partners and my husband online, I can tell you that the key to making real connections online is to not think that the online world is drastically different from ‘the real one’...sure, there are certain things you can’t see, body language and all but if you’re honest, willing to be vulnerable, willing to take a chance, it is possible to form friendships, relationships, what have you online…you just have to stop being so paranoid that the online world is more dangerous than your non-online world

Just be you..that should be enough.

I would say that support for one another is very important. Sharing pictures and details of your lives as well. I know for me I have one gal friend online who i’ve been through a lot with. I feel like she could be my sister. We’ve never even talked on the phone.

Well you can find connection online at a number of different dating sites such as match.com, but to make true human connection you will have to go offline.

If you stick around fluther long enough I think you would find out first hand. This is such an awesome group of people, lurve to all my fellow jellies!

Some of the most poignant moments I can recall have been as a result of me revealing something mundane albeit personal and someone else has remarked how they have always felt the same way, only thought they were alone—and vice versa.

And at the end of the day, isn’t that affirmation a little of what we’re all looking for?
To know that deep down inside we are all the same?

I view Fluther as a nice place for true human connection. Not so much for intimacy but certainly for wholesome communication, stimulating input, good humor, and quality conversation.

Yes, you can meet people online, but in my opinion, a true connection does not take place until you meet in person, face to face. I have experienced both, and only the face to face brings the true connection. I have an online and in writing relationship with my Granddaughter who lives on the other side of the world, but until or unless I actually meet her, I might as well be typing words to a stranger.

You don’t. I have met many friends and a few people I have been involved with online, but true human connection doesn’t happen until you meet in person. When I meet up with people from the internet in the “real world”, there tends to be a 50% chance that we’ll hit it off as well as I’d like to. I have one or two gal pals who I initially met online who I’ve known and loved for several years now. But in other cases, online communication seems to foster this sense of intimacy that’s hard to access when you’re standing face to face with someone.

That’s why I like Fluther. It’s sheerly intellectual comraderie. I add people to my fluther because I’m interested in their thoughts and opinions on things, but there’s no pretext of “hey we should meet up some time!”. Which is nice.

Sharing your life. Pictures, telephone calls, etc. And just being yourself. That means showing your ugly side on occaison too. That’s what makes the connection real I believe, to not be perfect all the time.

@emilia_eclaire You speak for yourself, I have received many private comments since I suggested a face to face meet up at my place sometime this summer.

@YARNLADY

Oh I don’t doubt there are plenty of fluther meet-ups, but I’m just pleased that fluther is not a website designed to match up people in such a way, i.e. a social networking site.

@emilia_eclaire ah, I see your point, yes, thank the Fluther”

I think sites that don’t portend to be dating sites, but offer opportunity for significant discussion and interaction are the best places. Theoretically people here (and at wis.dm) weren’t trolling for booty but interested in exchanging ideas. That way the attraction is more genuine, less forced, and perhaps based on something more real.

I probably would think it impossible, but I have one online friend that I’ve known for over 10 years and we’ve never met in person. I vaguely remember talking to her on the phone once. I met her playing a MMORPG and later we worked together as GameHosts and GameMasters and a friendship grew. She was someone I could confide in when I didn’t have anyone else and vice versa. I know I’ve never met her, but I love her. She’s a great person and her kind and patient ear was very much appreciated because I was much in need of a friend.

The internet is full of weirdos, flakes, and crazies for sure. It’s smart to be skeptical and distanced when encountering strangers online. However, there are communities all over the internet, and when people interact with each other regularly, it’s natural for friendships to form. One of the best things about the internet is that the only picture you have of someone is based on how they present themselves. Sure, crazy people take advantage of that, but I love the fact that I get to know someone based on their thoughts, their art, or whatever the community is based around. I love that I can pick out twits a hundred feet away. Once you learn how to navigate online communities, all it takes is some observation to separate the wheat from the chaff.

It does take some vulnerability and risk to make true human connection online. You have to be willing to be yourself, to open up, to share some things about your life. It’s worth it, though. I’ve met a lot of really good people online (a whole bunch of whom I have met in person and/or dated) and frankly, as shy and socially anxious as I am, the internet is just about the best place I can meet people.