Digital relationships are an interesting topic of discussion, especially in this era where technology has dominated our world. A lot of times, we hear people say that the world is a small place; now with the internet with us, it's even smaller than we could think of.
We have people scattered all over the world, yet we connect with them always, doing a lot of things together as if we are in the real world. That's simply amazing, and without any doubt, one can make valuable connections digitally, even though you can expose yourself to risky relationships if you are not smart enough.
Do you remember how difficult it was back in the days for people to connect with their friends and relatives? You either write a letter, and it takes days or even weeks before it gets delivered. A family friend told me how he found his wife those days and how difficult it was for them to connect as supposed, as he had to travel miles away just to see the lady.
Building all kinds of relationships then was simply tedious. We can't deny how life has been easier for us in this digital era. Just through a click, you can chat with your friends by video call, even pray together, and have conference meetings as if it's in the real world. All these connections are great, but then, it also comes with some concerns knowing how the digital world can be dangerous. It then becomes vital to watch out for certain things so you don't go beyond how it should be while striving to maintain healthy relationships digitally.
So how does one maintain healthy relationships digitally? Meeting new people, mingling with them, socializing, and chit-chatting with them are all in our hands and simply easy. We can also determine how such a relationship can affect us, either for good or bad. Personally, if I connect with anyone digitally either for friendship's sake or business purposes, I like being authentic with the person. Like being real and not faking anything, just the way I connect with my friends in the real world, and I expect the person to act the same way too. However, whenever I discover that you have two faces, I will do well to point it out and expect you to change or I make use of my block buttons. I just want to be sure that you are real; you don't tell me A when you are B.
This kind of life is common digitally, even physically, and I watch out for that.No matter how much we are connecting, there should be a clear boundary. There should be a limit to what I expose to you as the relationship keeps going. I can even tell you more when I begin to have close communication with you and I begin to discover your personality deeply. In fact, I just make use of my common sense, and I love investing in a relationship. But then, it can't be one-sided; if I am the only one committed in that relationship, it's already a red flag. You come to me only when you need me? We can't fly that way; I will end it before we see it in real life.
We are friends, but you don't respect my values? It's a red sign for me. One thing I love about myself is that I let my friends know who I am, what I believe, and the like. More of, can I meet you? I tell you basic important things about me as our friendship progresses, and I expect you to respect that. Still on the issue of respect, I blocked a digital friend two days ago. It wasn't hard to do. We had an important conversation we were making, and he later demanded that we switch to video so he could understand the explanation well through screen sharing. I declined immediately, telling him that I am not well-dressed due to the hot weather in my area; maybe some other time. Surprisingly, he said, just teach me this at once without any excuse! Meaning he doesn't care if I was naked or not. That was the end; he crossed a boundary and didn't observe any respect in the relationship, and I ended it before he ended my life, lolz.
Everyone is not a threat; I have connected with valuable friends digitally who have been a source of growth for my spiritual life and financial life and a source of encouragement to me in my difficult moments, friends who have given me useful wisdom in certain decisions. So I can't close my mind to connecting with people digitally; I just should know when to disconnect, unfollow, and delete a contact when the need arises.
The truth is that we can actually connect with good people through the online tools, but we must be smart and guard our minds and actions.
This post is in response to the #HiveLearners community contest on the topic titled, Digital Relationships.
All images were created using Meta AI