The internet age is a very difficult age to be in. Being 26 years old, I lived most of my childhood without the internet. I remember the only thing that I did on the computer was play GeoSafari and other PC educational games. I didn’t get my first cell phone until I was 16 years old. I have several social media accounts. I’ve ventured into almost every one of them. I’ve used Facebook and Twitter the longest. I don’t use Tumblr or Snapchat anymore because of some personal issues I have with those outlets. I’m okay with others using them, but using those outlets for social media is not my personal choice. Twitter would have to be my favorite social media outlet. I like being comedic. I browse on Facebook every now and again too. I have a new use for Facebook now and I’ve actually met several new friends through Facebook. I’ve also met friends through Twitter. It took me FOREVER to get here, but this is the gist of my article. I have met several people that I do consider friends online. I’ve not had any “stranger-danger” or someone is going to rape and then kill me kind of situations before. This is because I do know general online safety and because I don’t let myself get into those kinds of situations. So let me tell you about some friends that I have met online.
One friend of mine, we met through Twitter. I went through a good phase of liking Alexz Johnson, A LOT. She is a singer-songwriter/actress most known for the show Instant Star. I had went through the #instantstar hashtag and I found her. We started to follow each other and we talked a lot about Alexz Johnson and everything else we liked. She’s from Mexico and me being from the states, it was fun talking to her and getting her perspective on things. She’s a couple years younger than me so she would always ask me for advice (especially that about boys!) We’ve since drifted apart, but I did enjoy our friendship together.
Another friendship that has since drifted apart that I miss so much is my friendship with Canadian Ryan (since Ryan is a fairly common name in the US as well as in Canada) and that is what I called him. We bonded over Tumblr through our mutual love of Radio Free Roscoe, a show in the early 2000’s on TeenNick/when it was the-n about four freshman in high school who started their own underground radio station. It was such a cute show, still one of my favorites to this day. Unfortunately, the DVD they have for it only has the “greatest” hits and they’re not even close to having all of my favorite episodes. Anyway, Ryan and I would tweet at each other in just RFR quotes. We’d Skype for hours and just talk. We had a real good platonic friendship; I never had any romantic intention with him, because I was in a long-distance relationship at the time. He even wrote a song and he sent it to me; it still comes up on my shuffle and I tend to not skip it. So if you’re out there Canadian Ryan, I miss you and hope you are doing well, RFR Forever!
The newest venture of online friendships I have made is through the Lead Singer Syndrome All Access Club. This is an exclusive club just for people who listen to the Lead Singer Syndrome podcast. Go back and look through my articles for the one about all the podcasts I listen to if you want to know what it is about. I’m too lazy and exhausted to give you a description, and besides, I don’t want to make it too easy for you. Anyway, this club is AWESOME. They are always posting something hilarious, going live, and just a place where we can talk about music and stuff with no judgement. I’m so thankful for it because it has distracted me away from all the political NONSENSE that is flooding Facebook currently. I’ve met people from all over the country, Canada, Sweden, and even Costa Rica. It’s so cool. I love interacting with these people and talking music with them. I thought I knew a lot about music, but this notion has gone down the drain. These people know so much, it’s interesting how much I’m learning from them.
So, I do understand about all the stranger-danger and creepers in the jeepers of people online, but if I hadn’t taken a chance and stepped out, I wouldn’t know any of these wonderful people. Don’t be afraid when some random replies to your tweet or follows you randomly on Instagram. Take a chance and see what they’re about. You never know when you’re going to meet a friend who may change what you think about something forever.
