Club Adventist, facebook and community

[Stan]

When I view friends on facebook, and I see our common friends are also Club Adventist members, I feel good.

I wonder how different my life would have been if we would not have had an online community to meet so many other folks.

FRIENDSHIP RULES!!

[Dr. Shane]

Club Adventist is like a 2nd (or maybe 1st) church family to me. One thing Facebook has done for many of us at our local church is brought us more into each others' lives. Many of our local church members have joined Facebook and it has done a lot to improve many friendships between members.

[phkrause]

I know what you mean. There are times when it hits me that I'm actually talking to people that are everywhere on the face of this earth, some as far away as Australia, and of course in other places also. But we can communicate with each other in a split second. That's amazing.

pk

[GreatLakesGramma]

There are those who say that online friendships like these aren't real friendships. They believe that only friends we know in person are real friends. Online friendships aren't real because there are no shared experiences, and we don't do things together. They say that sites like Facebook and forums like this actually isolate us and interfere with us having a real social life. I wonder if they would say the same thing about pen pals, which used to be more common years ago.

But I think the criticism is aimed more at teens and young adults, who may have thousands of online friends, but no in person ones. In that respect, they may be right. But for us older ones, I don't agree. In fact, Facebook helps me keep in touch with friends and family I know in person, but don't have opportunity to be in personal contact with regularly.

[phkrause]

Yes I agree, the only friends I have I facebook are people I've known for many years but don't see that much or at all. I do enjoy it here and facebook.

pk

[Liz]

I do consider my friends here and on Facebook my real friends. There is a group of us that do have shared experiences. The only ones that I have met in real life are my actual family members. I feel like if I were to ever meet up with my online friends, it would just be a matter of seeing what they look like in person and hearing what they sound like when they speak. Otherwise, they know quite a bit about me and I them.

[GreatLakesGramma]

I agree, Liz. Friends are the ones who care enough to answer your emails, respond to your posts, ask about your well-being, etc, whether you've ever met them in person or not. A really good friend is someone you can talk to (verbally or in writing) about just about anything, and even when they disagree, they never get mad, judgmental, or nasty, and even when you are being hateful or whiny or stupid, they still like you anyway.

And like you, some of my internet friends know more about me than my in-person friends.