Chat Room Friendship – Pros and Cons
Everyone is aware of the world of chat. The constant IM buzzes and pings, the smiley faces and avatars which take us to a totally different world. Chat rooms are known to have their own mystery and aura. At the same time they have their own negatives and downsides. In the virtual world, it is easy to befriend people. It is probably the easiest way to meet new people and get to know them. But is it just a rosy chat room picture? There can often be a lot of thorns hidden below the rosy picture of a happy friendship in the virtual world.
Let’s have a look at few pros and cons of making friends virtually, via chat rooms or messengers.
Pros
1. Anonymity
Who doesn’t love a mask? It gives us the liberty to be what we always aspired to be and behave like we are no less than Mr.Caprio or Ms.Jolie. Anonymity gives power to people. You can share things about your life without worrying about judgment from others. You don’t have to carry the weight of your real life failures or miseries when you are in a virtual set up.
- Check out: 17 Reasons why best friends mean the world
2. Less accountability
Real life friends can get quite pissed if you have done something wrong or you don’t meet them often. But virtual friends know that there is nothing they can do beyond a point. You are less accountable to them and often don’t need to explain much about your priorities and choices. It might be a casual friendship which doesn’t require much detail and explanations. It can make you feel light and happy.
3. Share things easily
Sometimes it needs a stranger, to get you talking and taking the weight off your heart. Virtual platform is the best if you are looking to lighten your heart and share your grief. People in real life might not have that much time or might get bored beyond a point. But the virtual medium, gives you a chance to share things with new people you meet without revealing your real identity.
4. Forget real life struggles
Many of us are suffering from dreadful real life problems. Be it a failure in examinations or a break up, it can also be the death of a loved one. There is truly too much pain in the world and you cannot live with it if you don’t forget it for some time at some point. The virtual environment of a chat room takes you to a different world and you encounter people who are from different places and interests. You might temporarily forget the troubles of your real life.
- Also read: 7 signs that a guy is friendzoned
Cons
1. Fake profile
There is no dearth of fake people and fake profiles on the internet. If you get over involved with somebody in a chat room, he could be gay, an elderly man or a married person! You never know who is at the other end of the chat screen. It could be a teen aged child trying to know what and how things work like on chat. Friendships online can be quite tricky.
2. Misuse of information
There are people who like to misuse others’ personal information and circulate it around to gain more brownie points. They will make your personal life a point of gossip with others. They can misuse your pictures or the chat log that you have shared with them. This can be very traumatic to people and some people need the help of police to get rid of such people.
3. Addiction
Too much of anything can be very bad. Addiction to staying online all day and chat room friendship can result in loss of some big and good opportunities in real life. It might make you more introvert and you might start avoiding your real life buddies and actual people who care for you. This can become very unhealthy and make you anti social too. Addiction to anything is harmful.
4. Cyber Crime
There are some insane people out there too. They might go to any extent if you do not revert back to them. They can harass you over phone or email. They can get professional hackers to hack your account and spy on you. They might morph your photographs and create fake accounts using your name. Cyber crime is very much prevalent. Also, do not share your bank details with someone you met recently on a chat room thinking they need help. It is better to be safe than sorry in such cases. Trusting people in chat rooms easily can lead to serious problems for you.
Have you made some friends through chat rooms? How did it turn out for you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
