Is it possible to fall in love with someone you have never met in person, that is to say through online communication? Is online love just as powerful and real as offline love, or is it merely a fantasy? I hope to see some interesting and varied opinions.

I'll give you all my opinion here: Yes, it is very possible to fall in love with someone having never met them in person. Emotions, including love do not exist solely in the physical world; this would make sense as they are not physical themselves. You can feel compassion, empathy and hate towards somebody on the internet, so why not love? Love is not an object and does not exist in specific places in time and space, it is always there, always has been and always will be. It merely needs to be found (or find others) and so I see no reason why the non-physical world could be any less likely a place for two people to find it (or than two people if you're into that kind of thing); love is a partnering off of people at the heart and soul.

I don't believe there is a limit on love; this would most definitely include physical limits. There is no maximum capacity, only the flourishing ability to appreciate someone, love them, want to be near them. The very method of connection is completely and utterly irrelevant, be it anything from phone conversations, to smoke signals if you like. Love is eternal and everywhere in the physical and non-physical world and should be treasured and held precious, always.

Let us use Sal's as a brilliant example. Why am I here? I am here for not only the conversation, and ability to express my opinions. I'm here for the people, not all of which are mere acquaintances, either. Intimate and meaningful friendships can develop easily on the internet. Only relationships with real emotional attachment could foster such commitment. It is potentially the same principle for other types of relationships, namely romantic. Love found online, can and does last. End transmission.

Hit me up with your replies. ;]

Aslong as both parties are true to who they'd be in real life then theres no difference. You can have a conversation online just as easily as you can in real life (purhaps even easier) and your not worried about the physical consequences of what you say (getting slapped ect.) so you tend to be more open about your beliefs and opinions making it easier to find someone who you'd truely get along with. The problem however is that most people act differently (or even pretend to be completely different people) than they would in real life and it's hard to tell when they are. Still nothing wrong with it you just have to be responsible enough and realise that what you see isn't always what you get.

EDIT: I do get really pissed when guys hit on my female RS character though.

That isn't at all limited to online communication. There is nothing to stop one to deceive others face-to-face of their true identity if they so wish.

Yeah. But I think Meidou's principle still applies.

That said I also think it's possible. Online friendships can happen...why not love?

Yes i think one can fall in love with someone over the internet but i think people fall in love with the "character" of that person on the internet rather
because you can't even start to know someone really over the internet

Skype and such help but i think many people are disappointed when they meet in real life...

it can work out tho and i see no harm in trying (if you don't do it like an idiot but that goes for real life too)

I think it's entirely possible. I guess it depends on what your idea of "Love" is but mine certainly doesn't necessitate physical contact.

As one who has experienced it himself, I can say yes it's totally possible.

While the relationship ended after over a year, it was still one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life. And I'm still friends with her.
The thing is, we aren't limited by physical appearance over the internet. Love can develop for what it really is, a love for the other person for who they are. As long as you're true to who you really are and aren't putting on a character.
(Of course, it did help that me and my ex girlfriend both turned out to be rather attractive in real life. But that's not the reason we got together.)

But there is a downside. Physical contact will be longed for. It does help strengthen a bond, and going without it can be very depressing sometimes. Sex will definitely be longed for. But cybering can be very intense. (You might THINK it's no different than masturbating to an erotic story or something but the active intellectual exchange between two lovers makes it very different. Cybering with non loved ones is actually kind of underwhelming compared to that.)

My biggest problem was feeling useless. She had a lot of crap going on in her life at the time. I felt terrible that I couldn't be there with her. That I couldn't really help in any way but talk to her over the internet when she was available. And the busier she got and the more social she got the less common that got.

We eventually just drifted apart and decided we were better off as friends. But I still look back fondly on the experience. She did help me learn a lot about relationships in general(I know all girls are different but you get what I'm saying), and she REALLY helped me come out of my shell. I can safely say she made a man out of me. I have a feeling that's what she was going for...

I know about love on the internet

It can exist because love is an emotion :3
An emotion that usually ends up in me making a fool out of myself, but this doesn't matter on the internet because if you ignore me then I can ignore you. Generally you're less shallow on the internet because the real person comes out before you see the person. If friendship is possible, so is love...

However it's probably harder to keep a relationship going on t'internet. Just a matter of if they go inactive on the thing you use, there's no way to speak to them - assuming you don't have phone numbers etc.

Love still ruins everything though .

Attraction is a definite part of love.

If you fall in love with someone's character, but can't stand their appearance, it's going to probably end poorly.


Nowhere near physical contact. One kiss was better than any cyber-hoobilty goop that I've done.

Yeah, but it works in reverse as well.

It's possible. then aging you can have fetishes for cartoons and feet. But really, it happens all the time nowadays.

Surely you fall in love for what is behind that 'cartoon', and not the pixels on the computer screen.

It's definitely possible to fall in love with someone on the internet, but I would never do that unless I lived close to that person.

There's no reason for it not to be possible, you have to eventually meet with them, though.

I'm willing to move

Yes, but i don't know anybody who's developed any serious feelings for somebody on the internet. Theoretically it would be better, since people are more lax on the internet and are usually their 'real selves', different to what they act like in real life, but on the flipside... they may be paedophiles.

I think so. I have a really close friend ATM, and while it isn't love per se, I haven't found anything I can't talk to her about.

In some ways, online love is a little better- you can, after all, plan your responses and give a better impression overall. And when you do finally meet in person, if they're who they said they were, all the better.

I'm going to be a killjoy here and say I don't think it's at all possible to fall 'in love' over the relationship, because it's strongly my belief that you need physical contact to be truly in love. Being able to have a conversation online for an hour doesn't mean you're in love.

I don't think it's impossible to have deep feeling towards someone, which I can understand being misconstrued as love, but I don't think love genuinely exists unless two people are able to be with each other, share life's experiences together, and show a desire and affection for each other.

Chances are, after knowing each other for a while, they end up meeting in real life.

I think it would be really hard to be emotionally intimate with someone you've never met or been with physically. It seems like there are just basic things that are important in a relationship that you wouldn't have online.

Chances are if they met on the internet they live ages away from each other.

If they're old enough to fly or drive or however manage to get to see each other, they're not really an online relationship anymore, and maybe they would love each other. Although I think practically the exact same thing about long-distance relationships, since they tend to be "Online Relationships, and then I get to see you a few times a year."

Why would physical contact be necessary for love? Love is an emotion, not a physical action (in this context, anyway).


Nobody implied that.


Share life's experiences together? Online experiences are still life experiences, if the Internet is part of life (which it is). Furthermore, it is very possible to show a desire and affection for someone through online methods; why wouldn't it be? You say you believe love cannot genuinely exist unless people can physically be together. Again, it is an emotion; why would physical contact be necessary for emotion?


I'm not going to argue that online relationships are the most convenient arrangement; they aren't. However what basic things specifically would be necessary for love? It doesn't have to even be a successful relationship to involve love. Furthermore, love is not a materialistic concept, it is truly metaphysical. Therefore, although it wouldn't be physically intimate, I fail to see why an online relationship cannot be emotionally intimate if you haven't met physically.

Not to mention an emotional meeting will typically meet to a physical one.

This came up six months ago and this is what I said then.

I suppose it varies from person to person. But who you are on the internet, and more importantly who people think you are, is not who you are in real life. Your mannerisms, facial expressions, inflection, a million little details that make up your physical Being cannot be transmitted over the internet. It's possible to become enamored with someone over the internet, and then again you might be constructing this person to be who you want them to be. The internet is not a very effective medium of truth.

Video chat?

It's still not the same. I don't think technology will ever be able to replace the encounter of the Face-to-Face. With you and the Other in immediate, physical contact. Through video chat and other such mediums, there still is a separation, a distancing of emotion, etiquette, your Being as well. Can all of us say that there is no difference between how we act on the internet, and how we act in life? The internet is good at replicating the Face-to-Face, but it can't duplicate it.

A lot of people seem to think that it's a choice they make. It isn't.

I don't see how I can elaborate on that.

Yeah, an online relationship is not going to last if there's little to no chance of meeting in real life any time soon. Maybe within 3 years.

Love can form online. But there's a barrier.

Are we talking about romantic love here? If so, then no.

In my belief, love is formed from a variety of things; everything from the sound of your loved one's voice to the feel of their skin. In internet contact, tons of this is lost. No longer can you see that cute little dimple form when you make her laugh; hell, you don't even know when you make her laugh. You can't see how she interacts with other people, you can't hold her when she's going through her toughest times, those words of comfort end up being pixels on the screen of a dead object. Internet love is maddening at best; the longing you can feel for another is unbearable, and still, all you have to go on is the way they type, and who they say they are. Crushes can and are formed over the internet, but love will never be.

As for your argument of us feeling our emotions towards internet people... Yes, I have made many friends through this internet who I care for and argue with and are closer to than my friends in the world outside of the internet (wait, one exists?). But instantly, you can detach yourself from it all; I will never hate a person over the internet; no matter how skillfully pixels are constructed, they can never invoke hate in me. May I never stand corrected >.>

Yeah that basically...

I've never really met people on the internet that I can say i loved, but I can i've met a couple of girls on the internet i like for a little bit, but never really care enough to pursue her. Only because I would need to be able to see my girlfriend in real life, i would need her at least close to where i live. and i dont wanna get arrested for internet harrasment ;p

/thread and QFT


I have a lot of strong relationships with people I met online... Gosh I chat with Lee about life everyday through Facebook, andI consider him to be a pretty good bud.

Love? It's harder when you can't actually meet the person, but if you are both being totally honest about yourselves I don't see how it could be bad.

You are not the world. You are using yourself as the evidence that something is impossible because you do not fit the majority, or norm. You've never hated someone nor loved them romantically, but that why does that mean it couldn't happen to anyone else? It can and does happen, all the time. Futhermore, perhaps you can detach yourself from it all, but I wouldn't find it any easier to detach myself from my online friends than I would my offline friends..


Only if you see love as a physical thing. One may not be able to feel of someone's skin or hold them through their toughest times, but a physical barrier doesn't have to obstruct those feelings; the feelings of caring for someone, being able to share everything with someone and trust them with your life, savouring every moment you have with them and knowing that they feel the same way. These things alone can be much more powerful than such physical gestures. May I reiterate: love is not a physical or superficial thing. It is far deeper than being able to kiss or touch someone; it is the emotional and spiritual intertwinement of heart and soul.

Yes. You can.

The only trouble is neither party can put out unless you have physical contact .

Personally I think no. I think it's possible to be attractive to someone, just by seeing pictures and webcam and whatnot, but not love. I don't think you can develop emotions for someone without actually meeting them face to face, nothing can re create that feeling between two people who are face to face with technology, it's just loing pixels .

You think it impossible to develop emotions for someone online, yet you also say it is possible to be attractive to someone online? Interpersonal attraction is an emotion (in relation to how much one likes, loves, dislikes or hates a person), therefore it is quite possible to develop emotions for another person online.

Are you speaking from personal experience, out of curiosity?

Yes, I am.

I meant more "wow that girls fit" type of attraction, which can be done from photos, nothing in the slightest bit emotional.

It's definetly possible. There are two factors: The people and their definition of "love".

Sure, i'll never fall in love with a person on the internet but that doesn't mean that someone else won't.

I actually say that nowadays in day-to-day conversation. WEIRD FACT ABOUT DEMON JELLY HEY GUYS LET'S GET THE FAMILY AND READ IT


Never say never :3

Ya, I'm a firm believer in internet relationships.

Yelo and Suckmypeanut's proved to me that it is indeed possible.

I promise you this will be the only time. =P

www.eharmony.com

'Nuff said.

How was that enough said? You didn't didn't comment on the site at all.

I personally think it works just fine if you answer honestly. The chances are quite slim though.

My aunt met her husband on eHarmony. And he's brought stability to that family finally...don't knock it til you try it...

Who knocked it? Also the problem is payment...

I assume Lol did.

Usually the next line is "the largest collection of sex offenders on the web".

I assumed he didn't. He probably should have provided us with an opinion supporting one of the two sides of this debate. I think there is much goodwill in online dating sites, though. It would be much more effective if there was just one.

I think it's just a fantasy. Online friendship isn't as strong as real life either.

For a person to fall in love with another, he/she needs to understand all of his/her characteristics, right from his/her reactions, behaviour, open-mindedness, and social sense and see if it fits with him/her. Interests and opinions also matter to some people. Falling in love isn't just "liking" someone. Without seeing or being around with a person, it can never be true, actual, real life love. It doesn't work that way. It's just a fantasy. Atleast, according to me.

That's why I don't waste my time saying "Yeah sure" to questions like "who needs a gf" on RS.