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I have made some pretty good friends on Facebook. Yes, I believe in getting to know someone in person before becoming attached to him or her, but the fact of the matter is that it is possible to form strong relationships by meeting people online. The theory at work here is that a true friendship is based off of what two people are able to say to each other; communication can be through texting, instant messaging, or Facebook chatting, so if two people are talking to each other in one way or another, shouldn't they be allowed to call themselves friends?

I wouldn't recommend meeting people on Facebook with whom you have absolutely no connection whatsoever. For example, I met one of my friends rather recently because I saw that she added two of my friends on Facebook, and I just decided that I'd check out with whom they had spent a week of camp. Suffice to say, we ended up talking more, and in a few weeks, we started hanging out together; she eventually introduced me to several of her friends, and it completely opened me to a new side of life previously untouched. Granted, the same thing would have happened had I attended their school and met them in person first, but the relationships we formed are no weaker because of this.

That being said, Facebook has groups that people can join if they have common interests. This could be a good place to strike up a conversation with someone with whom you share a common fear of heights, common prejudice against gingers, or common wish to leave the United States if a certain someone would be elected as Vice President. You might not hit it off with everyone that isn't a fan of Sarah Palin, but at least you'll have something in common. If there isn't a group that suits your interests, then you can start one and start talking to the people who join it.

When you talk to people on Facebook whom you haven't previously met, don't be a liar. Don't make yourself out to be a prince or star athlete; not only would this come back to bite you if you ended up meeting these friends in person, but you're not doing yourself any favors by having someone engage in conversation with a liar. See, if you play the role of someone you're not, then who's really making the friend: you, or your twisted, heroic alter-ego? If you want a real relationship, you cannot expect to build it on lies.

Other than that, just talk to your new friends as if they were right next to you (but you have to use a computer, of course). Make conversation about who you are, where you're from, what your hobbies are; all of this is made much more convenient if you've filled out your Facebook profile and decide to check out the other person's interests. In fact, this is a great way to start a conversation if you're desperate: just look up the other person's hobbies or interests and try to relate to them. Facebook gives you an advantage in that you can read what a person's interests are, but in the end, you need to actually talk to him or her to form a real connection.

Learn more about this author, David Aaron White.
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