Dem: Sexual Assaults Allow Military 'Culture To Continue'
'DWTS' Shakeup Ahead?
Most of us have at least a few "friends" who we've never met in real life -- the one who friended us after seeing the comment we left on a mutual friend's photo; the daughter of our mom's co-worker who e-mailed us for career advice ages ago and who still sometimes forwards "Arrested Development" links. Turns out this type of friendship is becoming more common. A new TNS Global survey of over 27,000 people found that folks are increasingly connecting with others online for platonic purposes.
Participants from China said that of all their relationships, about 80 percent are with online-only friends (people they've never met), while U.K. respondents said about 25 percent of their friends are online-only. Americans are on the low end of the spectrum, saying that online-only acquaintances make up 20 percent of their pals.
What's more surprising is that 61 percent have met their Web friends face-to-face. A whopping 76 percent of Germans have admitted to crossing over from cyberspace to the real world. France, Sweden, Denmark and Norway round out the top five populations most likely to meet their buddies in real life. (56 percent of Americans have met someone they first met online.)
Click here to read how people befriend their online friends -- and why others don't trust them.
Amazing and Addictive Timekillers
Paint like Jackson Pollack
With just one finger, you too can create beautiful works of abstract art. Get started now
Jacksonpollack.org
Test Your Eyeballing Skills
The challenge: Cut lines in half, find the center of shapes, create right angles and perform other simple geometric tasks ... no ruler allowed. When you're done, compare your eyeballing skills to those of other gamers. Get started now
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What's better than "The Office?" Well, not much. But what's almost as good as "The Office?" Office-themed mini golf, clearly. Get started now
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Not sure why this random little gadget that creates personalized street signage, fortune cookies, bars of soap and much more is so amusing... but trust us, it is. Get started now
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Click the Ball
That's it, just click it. (And yes, something happens when you do.) Get started now
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Draw With Your Computer
Relive those wonderful childhood afternoons spent in front of MacPaint with this new web-based art tool. Get started now
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Pick from hundreds of different facial features to create crime-suspect-like sketches. Our preferred usage: celebrity portraits! Get started now
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thisissand.com
Pull at Spider Webs
Think of it as sweet, sweet revenge for every web that's ever brushed against your forehead. Get started now
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Clicking With a Click
Over the past 10 years, Ontario native Stefanie, 23, has formed her own circle of Web friends. Stefanie remembers a girl she befriended in a chat room -- after learning that they lived close to one another and had plenty in common, they ended up meeting ("For pancakes and squirrel watching," says Stefanie).
Stefanie still continues to meet new people online from time to time. "If it wasn't for the Internet, I'd never have met some of the best people in my life," she says. She also credits these relationships with helping her get over her shyness. "What I learned by interacting on the Internet I practiced in person and now feel content to be myself and be comfortable with it."
Do You Really Know Your Friends?
Many Web socialites befriend their acquaintances on social networking sites. Over 50 percent of people worldwide participate in such sites, including Friendster, Facebook and Second Life. (Koreans are the most likely to belong to more than one, btw, with each person belonging to an average of four different sites.)
But despite their multitude of friends, 37 percent of people worldwide have admitted to not being sure about the "true identity" of the people they meet online. China and the U.S. had the strongest negative views about this and about social networking sites -- deeming them dangerous or a waste of time.
Tell us: Do you have "Web-only" friends? Have you ever met someone in person who you initially met on the Internet?
Also on Lemondrop: Check out these totally cool knitting projects you can do when you get offline.
Kooky Knitting Projects
Elephant gun Meet "Gun Shy," created by Anna at Mochimochi (FYI: "mochi" is a Japanese ice cream!). Don't worry, this cute pachydermal plush doesn't really want to shoot anyone.
mochimochiland.com
Toilet paper We're not sure why this remnant on the roll is so sad...or why anyone would want a knit swath of TP. But it sure is cute, right?
mochimochiland.com
Fractured femurs Let's just hope these are intended as a dog chew toy...or a special gift for a huge fan of "Bones."
craftycrafty.tv
Horned beetle A classic stuffed animal shaped like (what else?!) the bug called kabuto mushi. The artist named him Simon and is super glad she finally has an insect around her NYC apartment that she isn't afraid of.
warmfuzzies.typepad.com
Mario scarf There's a blog dedicated to this "extreme-geek" knitting project of creating an entire tapestry of the first level of the Nintendo game Mario.
Boob This knitted gem was clearly inspired by (tee hee) sweater pillows.
snarfd.com
Princess Leia hat Created by Ansley of the Blue Arts blog, this design is perfect for the woman looking to both stay warm in winter and appease her nerd boyfriend's "Star Wars" fetish.
snarfd.com
Dust bunnies Mochimochi Land is the brainchild of New York knitter Anna Hrachovec, who says she draws her inspiration from Japanese culture. Maybe that explains her desire to cute-ify a household mess and put instructions up for others on her site.
mochimochiland.com
Vibrator cozy It takes care of you, sure, but even your vibrator can get lonely sometimes. That's why it has this Black Flag sweater to snuggle up to. Because when we think Black Flag, we think cozy...don't you?
flexyourthread.wordpress.com
Knitted food There's no shortage of yarn delicacies on Etsy, but this plate of a carrot and tangerine takes the cake. Did the artist only have two colors of yarn? Or is this just a balanced meal?
etsy.com
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Wednesday 07 January
By MagPie
I have made many lasting friendships online over the last 13 yrs. I have met many face to face, we have shared in each others weddings, funerals, holidays etc. We have been there for each other thru serious health issues, moves, financial difficulties. We have been there for each other 'just because.' One group of online friends gets together daily on Pogo for Happy Hour where we check up on each others' day, family news, health issues, etc. When one of us is missing for whatever reason, one or several of the others calls to make sure that person is ok. We call ourselves the Twisted Family ...we really HAVE become family to each other in every sense of the word! Another group of friends/family are those who meet nightly (not as often as we used to) in one of the longest running chatrooms on AOL...Fire By the Lake. Somehow, me being the shy person I am, I have managed to merge these two groups of very dear people thru emails and now many cross over from the Fire room to Pogo and vice versa! Many people have been added to the families over the years and many have left and are sadly missed. I have traveled all over the country meeting these awesome people and they have been to my home many times. When I moved across country and had serious health issues in a strange city, several of them showed up at the hospital and my home to take care of me when I needed help! When several got married...we traveled to their weddings. We used to have get-togethers several times a year, but now some of us have small children once again and it makes traveling harder, butttttttt....now our children are at an age where we get them together as often as we can so a whole new generation has connected face to face thanks to our online families! Have we ever met someone who make us say UH OH or OMG???? LMAO Yep!!! But we handled it as a 'family'! Im sure we all have those family members we dread coming to family reunions?? Well this is pretty much the same thing! Ya take the good, ya take the bad....life is a never ending adventure! To the Fire Family and the Twisted Family....I love ya all dearly...thanx for being such a special part of my life!!! We ARE family....I got all my sistahs and me....lol and the Twisted Mistahs as well!!!
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Wednesday 07 January
By Karen
MagPie, I couldn't have said it better. My group met in momsonline...a message board aol used to have for moms (duh). We all had kids the same age (at the time, kindergarten) and started with a group of about 20. We are down to 8, now...but the core 8 will be friends forever. Our kids are now juniors, we have had gatherings (not as many as we'd like, money is always an issue) and share in each other's joys, triumphs, sadness and woes. We've had kids graduate, buy homes, be hospitalized, etc... and I look at these ladies as my sisters always. I don't know if we would have become friends, had we met in "real life" first....but by getting to know each other online first, it opened the door for us to really get to know each other before we met and formed opinions based on appearances. I love my ladies, one and all, and can't imagine my life without them. :)
Wednesday 07 January
By Marcie
I met a man from online about a year after I started chatting with him. He lived 60 miles away. I was 43 and he was 37. He acted like he wanted a romantic relationship and I was visiting him every weekend, at his invitation. To make a long story short, he had a 55 year old woman in his life that he hid from me for years. He would pick fights at holidays and have excuses for not taking me places or to family functions. Slowly it became obvious that it was because of that other person. I have been in therapy for over 3 years trying to get away from him and end it. Be careful who you meet.
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Thursday 08 January
By sickee
heres what to do to be free of all that, first set a meeting with him and tell him you realy miss being intimate with him. When the time comes to be together physically, get naked and shit yourself in front of him then fill a cup or bottle with your own smelly yellow piss and drink it, it always helps if you stir your piss with a dirty tampon ,that should end it all pretty quickly , and to avoid these situations in the future get a massive dildo and a gigantic ass plug and for gods sake.clean that smelly dirty pussyhole.
Wednesday 07 January
By jbryan
I've created a social group of local people I met online. Most of us are recent transplants from other parts of the country and were having a hard time meeting social peers. We go to dinner, meet for drinks, attend sports and entertainment events together, and have a great time just hanging out talking. All I had to do was a post a "platonic" ad on craigslist and within about 6 weeks had 20 new friends. I'm basically shy, so this was a stretch for me, but I've had a great time with these guys.
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Wednesday 07 January
By Lisa
You can meet some very nice people on the internet but why would you trust someone until you got to know them ? that's just common sense . Be friends with someone first a relationship takes time to build especially if you are meeting a virtual stranger !
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Wednesday 07 January
By Wanda Clark
I have met a most wonderful friend online. We have been cyber-buddies for about 3 years now, but have never had the opportunity to meet as she lives in California and I liv e in Florida. We became acquainted through the AOL online game of Gold Rush and have emailed and IM'd regularly since. I always get the sweetest Holiday cards from her and her husband for every occasion and we discuss all our heartaches and joys. I love you Helen!!
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Wednesday 07 January
By Angelia
Well i met a guy online in a chat room met him back in 98 been with him since 98 he came down met fact to face in 98 i was 24 25 at the time he was 23 22 he wa living in california me in Florida and he had to go back to do some stuff he later come back stay 2 weeks in the summer of 98 i was shock he brought me a train ticket to come back to california with him made parents mad but who cares.i was of age. we live with each other for a good long while as b/f and g/f but out there common law said we was married. I never did get alone with my parents but that is another story but anyway he ask me to married him in 2001 we got married in March 2003 so we been together since 98 but we have been married for 5 years now and going on our 6th wedding anniversery sorry i can't spell. :-)I won't say everything is rose and sunshine with us cause it is not iam just lucky i did not meet and ax killer or someone bad like most ppl ppl meat good nice ppl on the net some don't and iam sorry for the ppl who don't meet nice ppl u just have to find them and hope for the best. I wish u guys luck . As for me well If i know now what i was getting myself in ti might somewhat still married him u c my guy in 2000 a dr told him he has bi polar manic depression /schophiena and when we move out here to Florida he a dr told us he has broderline personality disorder and doing all by myself with no help .He has no one so I am nice type of person. We i wish u guys luck i love and like to make friends also i don't have any either offline or online my world is my husband appointments and stuff like that . tc ttul.
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Wednesday 07 January
By George Hand
My Son met his wife on the internet 15 years ago. He quit his job, after meeting her, moved to PA and got married. They are very happy.
My wife has internet friends and as a retirement gift to her we visited PA, New York, New Hampshire,and Virginia.
I have a few internet friends; Texas, California, Germany, Illinois etc
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Wednesday 07 January
By jennierisner
Actually, you can meet a sociopath in person just as easily as you can online; my ex-husband is living proof. I have friends who've been stalked, assaulted, abused, etc by guys (or girls-at least the stalking part) that they've met at clubs, out with friends, or even at work. The truth is, there's good and bad people everywhere, and if logging on and talking to your virtual friends is saving you from even one bad face-to-face situation, go for it!
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Wednesday 07 January
By Jonathan
I believe that should read "Clicking with a Clique"
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Wednesday 07 January
By Robusto
I met my wife on the internet 10 years ago and we're still married. I think that you can meet good and bad people on the internet just like you can everyday in public places like bars, churches etc., but one thing you should never do is be sweet-talked into trusting people and NEVER commit to a relationship with anyone until you get to meet their family and friends first.
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Wednesday 07 January
By Sasha
Several years ago, I sent an email to a well-known author whose books I enjoy reading, and he replied promptly. We have been emailing now and then ever since. I don't expect that I'll ever meet him in person--he lives in Europe--but it's fun to have this internet connection. I say, if you want to contact someone, go for it. If he or she doesn't want to reply, that's OK, but you might strike up a friendship.
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Wednesday 07 January
By Harper
I've been in chat rooms, played on-line gaming from Texas Hold Em to WOW to Second Life. I have had friends for several years that I talk to almost every day and have never met face to face. I completely agree with the post about meeting people in real life and online...some are wonderful people...some are certified loonies! :) I've learned to identify warning signs that the person I am chatting with might not be who he or she is portraying and its helped me be more observant of people I meet face to face. I never was "shy" but I definitely lacked self-confidence when it came to situations when I was surrounded by unfamiliar people (night clubs, multi-location work meetings, holiday parties, etc. etc.) and meeting people online has boosted my self-confidence as no "how to" or "people who need people and have pets but dislike the color blue" self help guide out there. Be careful! Be courteous! Have Fun but simple be aware and meeting online friends can be a wonderful experience!
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Wednesday 07 January
By Cathy
Very well stated! That is what I was trying to say in my post, but it didn't come out so well. The internet has definitely boosted my self confidence, too. I think because the friends we make online are friends of our thoughts and ideas. It doesn't matter what you are wearing or if your hair is just so. You don't have to walk around and mingle with the guests and hope to find somebody to enjoy conversation with. Here you are liked by your internet friends for your ideas, individuality, wit and shared common interests.
Wednesday 07 January
By Mary
My husband and I met online 12 years ago. We are happily married and had fun communicating via the Internet when we first started getting to know each other. We eventually decided to meet each other face to face, taking all safety precautions, and truly enjoyed each others company when we got together.
We have other friends , that we referred to the Internet to meet friends and they are now married nearly 10 years happily.
The Internet is an open forum and can be a definite positive avenue to meet many new friends. Try it but do be careful because there are some kooks out there.
Reply
Wednesday 07 January
By Harper
That last line should read "simply" on my last post.
Forgive me for my language skills..I am fluent in "typonese"
:)
Reply
Wednesday 07 January
By Cathy
I thought it was funny when I read "simple"... I thought you meant "simpleton".. LOL. Just kidding around. :)
Wednesday 07 January
By Cathy
I've enjoyed meeting several people online. I have lots of pets and originally started meeting people by joining pet lover groups. I've also used the internet to reconnect with old high school friends. It's as much fun to hear from old acquaintances as it is to make new friends.
For me, the internet has opened up an otherwise "loner" existence because of the common interest groups it offers. I've actually become more outgoing in my personal relationships as well. Plus, I feel I've learned a lot from people I've met online. There are so many points of view and great ideas to learn from people in other areas of the world that I would never had had the pleasure of learning before!
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Wednesday 07 January
By Harper
Cathy--Thanks for the reply but I happen to think you stated it quite well! Congrats on meeting your S.O. online. I think renewed self-confidence is one of the greatest things about online connecting. A year ago I wouldnt have even posted a comment for fear of being "talked back to" or I would have spent an hour agonizing over my words or spelling. Now? I say what I feel and if my typonese is acting up I just repost with no regrets. I think you also mentioned the best aspect of it all...Online connections and socializing allows one to feel gratified by their thoughts, personalities and overall amiability rather than what one happens to be wearing that day. I am not saying that online connections replace face to face experiences...just that I absolutely adore having a great time while my hair is piled atop da' head and wearing my favorite ragged tee and sweatpants!