Are Internet “Friends” Really Friends?

13 July 2010

I have to admit I didn't know what I was getting into when Kim and I kicked off this website. Sure, I knew we'd need to put in lots of time filling the site with high-quality content ... I knew we'd be busy posting articles, updating our Facebook page and sending out tweets. What I didn't know was how personally involved I'd become with the people we'd connect with – people I've never met, and probably never will.

Even though we haven't spoken or seen each other face-to-face, I've come to think of many of the people I converse with on Twitter and through aweinautism.org email as friends. When people share a purpose, you notice they tend to cut through the mundane and get right to the stuff that matters. More than most, they express their triumphs and challenges, offering encouragement or seeking comfort. When I see a tweet from a mom who's feeling bad about having scolded her child who has autism -- or from a dad trying desperately to help his son experience the rewards of success , or from an adult with autism struggling to find a comfortable place in a world that often misunderstands her -- I can't shut it out as though it were a segment on the six o'clock news. Sometimes I find myself wiping a few tears away when I think of these people; sometimes I lie awake at night wondering about them; always, I pray for them.

Internet relationships are a funny thing. We don't have the obligations we'd have with a neighbor or colleague, and we don't really know much about each other in the larger scheme of things. Despite the distance though, despite the absence of a face or a voice, our human need to connect, to share -- and yes, to care – are, I've discovered, very much present, and very real.

If you're a friend I've met through Awe in Autism, I'm thankful for you; you've made my life richer. If you're reading this and we haven't yet connected, I look forward to meeting you!

In Awe, Deborah