Do you spend more time with IRL friends or virtual friends?

[Indylady]

I’m back online on PS more than I have been in years, and I’m loving it. I have found though that I’m spending a little less time texting friends—it’s kind of like PS and PS friends are filling in some of my social needs. How does PS fit into your social life (do you consider it part of your social life at all?)? Do you spend more time here or with friends IRL?

 

[Dancing Fire]

My friends don't talk diamonds.

 

[Bron357]

Yeah, my friends don’t do diamonds or coloured stones.
But I do find I speak to friends less via phone than before, we all seem to post up photos / comments of our lives on Facebook to share with everyone because it’s quick easy and does “everyone” in one go.
It has also caused problems ha ha,
A friend of mine excused herself from another outing by indicating she was “not feeling well” so as to attend another (better!) function. Of course photos of that function got posted up on FB much to the charging of the “dumpee” .
“I thought you said you were sick with * 3 x angry face emojis” posted up as a comment under the photo - so everyone got to see it!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I don't have friends IRL, I've slowly found that people I considered friends were just wearing the title.

Ps friends are it for me, it's where I know people will be honest and supportive and I don't have to clean the house or put a bra on to enjoy the company. It's where I turned when I lost a long term friendship and found my people

 

[stracci2000]

I don't have friends IRL, I've slowly found that people I considered friends were just wearing the title.

Ps friends are it for me, it's where I know people will be honest and supportive and I don't have to clean the house or put a bra on to enjoy the company. It's where I turned when I lost a long term friendship and found my people

We ARE your people, and bras are optional

 

[AprilBaby]

More IRL. This is fun but I only know a few people here in person. I come on once a day or less to view threads.

 

[Indylady]

I don't have friends IRL, I've slowly found that people I considered friends were just wearing the title.

Ps friends are it for me, it's where I know people will be honest and supportive and I don't have to clean the house or put a bra on to enjoy the company. It's where I turned when I lost a long term friendship and found my people

It’s so funny that you say this, because my original post idea was to ask about IRL and virtual friendships, and also to ask how people determine whom they choose to socialize and surround themselves with. I think that one reason I am really enjoying PS is because of the positivity, because in comparison some of my IRL friends can be a bit negative and draining. I am trying to determine who I really want to be close to and what friendships are actually are working for me and which ones aren’t. It’s tough! It doesn’t help that I’m busier and my priorities have changed to focus more on my family and SO than in my younger times. It’s also great that I can post when I have time and don’t have to travel or leave what I’m doing.

 

[MeowMeow]

Virtual friends mostly. Plus my husband. It's really not easy for me to go visit my one friend who still lives close-ish to me. 2 hours away with a bad back and an infant is really far. I pretty much just socialise with one of my husbands old co workers and his wife a few times a year and text my best friend other than my husband daily. Sadly he does not enjoy jewellery talk too much so I look to PS and one or two other spots for my jewellery obsession lol.

 

[Dancing Fire]

because in comparison some of my IRL friends can be a bit negative and draining. I am trying to determine who I really want to be close to and what friendships are actually are working for me and which ones aren’t.

Whomever sporting the biggest diamond.

 

[Indylady]

Whomever sporting the biggest diamond.

Lol! None of my friends are sporting a diamond. Even the married ones have sapphires. The only one that I can think of now has dainty tiny diamond ring—like .05 set in a band that looks like a tree branch. I wish I had a real life jewelry friend, but alas, not even one!

 

[missy]

I spend more time chatting and hanging out with my "IRL" friends though I consider a number of wonderful ladies here now my real life friends so you can say I have the best of both worlds. Most of my real life non PS friends do not love bling the way I do so it is a lovely way to enjoy bling and the company of some really nice people too. Win win.

 

[House Cat]

My IRL friends are too busy with young children and careers at this time in their lives. We fantasize about being little old ladies with no obligations. For now, I see them a few times per year.

I’m here all of the time. I enjoy the company and the support of the gracious ladies of PS.

 

[LJsapphire]

Friends?

I have only a handful of RL friends. One moved out to the middle east when I was pregnant with my son. She is back home for Christmas and visiting today. One lives 60 miles away (my best friend from university) and she has a lot of other friends. I'm friends with both sisters of aforementioned friends, and parents too. Other people I knew from school etc I'm in touch with on facebook but I haven't met up with them for a long time. This year I've been on one night out for my friend's 40th in January. I go out for meals with my family, other than that I only spend time with DF and my son. Hoping to make some new friends at horse riding, we started lessons in August and started at a new riding stables in November.

I posted on fb that I felt a bit lonely, all my photos are of me with family and pets. Other people post pics of them and friends on days or nights out. Apart from our Christmas day out at the start of December I haven't got pics with other people since January. But in general I'm happy and I should be happy I have a nice life with my family. I just work too much to see people a lot.

 

[lyra]

Yeah, my IRL friends live on the other side of the country. I'm a reclusive introvert anyway. I do really care about my virtual friends. This place is for fun. I don't know anyone in real life, besides my DD who loves jewelry, gems and diamonds as much as me.

 

[Snowdrop13]

Friends?

I have only a handful of RL friends. One moved out to the middle east when I was pregnant with my son. She is back home for Christmas and visiting today. One lives 60 miles away (my best friend from university) and she has a lot of other friends. I'm friends with both sisters of aforementioned friends, and parents too. Other people I knew from school etc I'm in touch with on facebook but I haven't met up with them for a long time. This year I've been on one night out for my friend's 40th in January. I go out for meals with my family, other than that I only spend time with DF and my son. Hoping to make some new friends at horse riding, we started lessons in August and started at a new riding stables in November.

I posted on fb that I felt a bit lonely, all my photos are of me with family and pets. Other people post pics of them and friends on days or nights out. Apart from our Christmas day out at the start of December I haven't got pics with other people since January. But in general I'm happy and I should be happy I have a nice life with my family. I just work too much to see people a lot.

Same! I find as I get older that people who were good friends from earlier phases in life sort of fall away, for various reasons. My closest 2 pals are women I met relatively recently through our kids and school things. My oldest friend (from age 10) and I were mostly keeping in touch through our annual Christmas card but she hasn’t sent one for a couple of years. We are all so busy with full time jobs, teen kids and ageing parents. Maybe we’ll catch up in a few years, I definitely prefer seeing people in person and have not replaced anyone with more time on social media or on PS.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

My IRL friends all message each other about normal stuff every day. Such as "Here is my new lemongrass bush would you like one?" "Anyone want lemons from my big crop this year?" "Scoopon has 10% off today" "OMG I am dying with this cold" "I am going to KILL Hubs for buying 3 tomatoes when I asked for potatoes" etc

We try to meet once a month for a girls day out and also those of us with kids the same age have play dates together.

Online is interesting. I am part of another forum, a shipping forum where shippers of a particular fictional couple get together. It is completely impersonal and there for the sole purpose of discussing the ship. No one gives a crap about anyone else's life on there if it's not related to the ship. I have made 2 lovely actual online friends from it though! It's good in the sense that I can't actually talk to my IRL friends about shipping (well I can but I don't receive a passionate response! My bestie just pats me and makes clucking sympathetic noises when I rage).

PS is my jewellery and bling haven. You guys UNDERSTAND bling! I actually find PS a very good balance. It is a place for bling but when I do make a comment about real life, I find it is better received than on the shipping forum where no one cares about anyone and people will turn on you in a minute the moment you post something (ship related) that they disagree with.

 

[dk168]

Likewise, the peeps I hang out with IRL are not interested in bling.

DK

 

[OoohShiny]

Being male and liking bling seems to completely confuse people and cause them to make strange faces lol, so PS is my saviour in that regard! (and the guilty party for making me like this haha).

I do have quite a few people I would call friends, in as much as I like them, can chat to them about stuff, and they would probably lend a hand/shoulder depending on if I needed some support, but true friends, the ones who'd go through thick and thin with me? Probably countable on one hand, I reckon.

I don't see people in real life anywhere near as much as I should, but that's because I'm an introvert with confidence issues, so do spend a lot more time interacting online than offline... (apologies for cluttering up the forum with so many posts! lol)

 

[strawrose]

@mellowyellowgirl I thought you meant “FedEx shipping” or something like that. Then, I remembered my geek days.

Somehow I got drawn into long conversations with PSers. My RL friends are busy taking care of newborns. Two of my good friends are out of state. Some want to meet next month for dinner, though.