FWIS3

Social media had come along and created a new way to have a friend.

...

I have often used quotation marks in the past when referring to a Facebook "friend" with more than a touch of sarcasm. Are Facebook connections really friends?

I have absolutely no hesitation in using the word to describe my relationship with my dear friend Jim, whose absence from my daily life has left a palpable emptiness. I miss him. Something has truly changed in my life because he's gone.

And I'm not alone. Hundreds and hundreds of people have poured out their emotions in that electronic community. At times, it feels as real, as close, as if we were standing in the same room. In some respects, we are closer.

Online, people express themselves with a special openness. They don't have to wait their turn to speak, and the ones with small voices or introverted personalities can convey big, profound, touching emotions. Online we can develop a kind of intimacy that eluded us in the nonvirtual world. On social media, we can share -- as Jim so often did -- big and small parts of our life, without worrying that others are too busy or simply not interested in hearing it.