Online Relationships

Due to advanced technology, we are surrounded by an improved way of life. Gone are the days when you had to get to the bank, join the queue, and pick a slip before you could request what you wanted from the bank. Those stressful and tedious processes have become a thing of the past due to technological advancement.

Nowadays we can do almost everything we need to get into the bank at our own convenient time. Making deposits, withdrawals, complaints and other services got easier and could be done online. That’s part of the ease technology has brought upon us.

Not only in the banking sector but almost in every other sector too. I remember during the coronavirus era, a time when there were restrictions on movements and every other thing. Students were unable to go to school and even the working class had to sit at home.

Those times most sectors resulted in the virtual way, they were left with no choice. Though the virtual world had been in existence before then, it became globally used at that time. Classes started to teach their students online, workplaces embraced the use of online meetings, and many more institutions.

The virtual world

It's so easy to meet with different people across the universe these days. I can be here in Nigeria and make friends with people from all over the world regardless of their country. That's the beauty of the virtual world.

I remember some years ago while I was on a platform named Uptrennd. I really love my stay on the platform because it made me reach out to so many people around the world. I made friends from Nigeria down to Pakistan, The United States, the Philippines, and many other places around the world. It was easier to explore and learn more about their cultures, dishes, and way of life through reading and viewing their captures.

At some point, I felt like I was just among them. The virtual world is like an illusion, but if threaded carefully it will be among the best experiences one might have in their lifetime.

The fun fact about it is that there are some times when we meet with people online and create a bond of friendship gradually, then in the end such friendship ties remain stronger than those you even know in reality.

The difference between online and offline friends is that you know the whereabouts of who you are dealing with, but it's not that way online. There are a lot of risks attached to making friends online. It takes a longer period before you could build trust among each other.

I have made a lot of friends online that I can trust and rely on, they have been there through thick and thin, and I am wishing for a day that I will get to see and know them in person too. It's hard to believe when you tell people you have friends online, and this is because of those bad people tarnishing the image of good people, scamming, making fraudulent deals, theft, and many more bad vices.

Recently I was on TikTok and I met with a fellow farmer online. I needed something he claimed to have on his timeline so I decided to patronize him. At first, it was hard to trust him but today I have bought a lot of goods and had several deals with him.

I have also witnessed a lot of couples that their marriage was a result of their meet-up online. They met each other in the media and, from there built up a bond which led to marriage. Some will last and some won’t. But you can’t define your relationship with someone because you witnessed others having a failed relationship.

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This is my response to the HIVE LEARNERS weekly prompt in the hive-learners community for the Week 157 Edition 3 and the topic to be discussed is DIGITAL RELATIONSHIPS

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