The Internet Is Better Than Friends?

We had a debate at youth group on saturday night- is the internet better than having friends in person? Neither side really knew what they were talking about - and eventually things deteriorated into a yelling match. It was fairly hilarious, we'd lost the plot by the end and just declared it a draw. We raised some interesting points though!

My team was arguing that the internet was far better than friends. We had plenty to say; the internet is always there for you, as long as you've got a computer. You can't fight with a computer, they don't cause any emotional trauma, you can't fight with them. You can, however, talk to your friends over the net - and you can leave at any point in the conversation, should things get ugly. The internet teaches you things, you can play games with your friends, lets you keep in contact with friends far away and you can even tour places over the net. Who needs to leave the house? Who needs friends? Everything is just a click away...

But on the other hand, the internet can't hug you, or comfort you. The internet won't come over and hang out, or be able to run around in the fresh air with you. The internet isn't a person! Quite simply, it can't offer anything that a human can in terms of emotions and comfort. The internet is really just a way to escape reality and try to make things easier. Friends are what everyone needs to get through the day. The internet is an incredibly poor substitute! You can't make memories with the internet.

Obviously, that was the point of the debate - there is no substitute for a good friend. Yes, we all love the internet... but if it comes down to it, we'd be stupid to reject true friendship over it.