Read the passage. Then answer the question. Face-to-Face vs. Virtual Friends In a digital world, opportunities to connect with other people abound. We e-mail recipes, text funny jokes, leave rambling voice messages, write opinionated blog posts, and send digital birthday cards. Some of us boast online “friends” in the thousands who routinely “like” our comments about politics and pop culture. In turn, we “like” pictures of their dogs in holiday sweaters and photos of them with their friends doing fun and exciting things. Are these the kind of friends we can depend on? What if we get stranded at the library during a storm and can’t reach anyone at home? How many of these friends would we feel comfortable calling to ask for help? More important, of those we might call, how many would help us in this situation? A real friend is someone for whom we feel affection or personal regard. It’s the person who helps us when we’re in need. Despite our social interactions with a stream of online acquaintances, studies show that we are lonelier than ever. According to Relationships Australia, a community-based support services organization, people under age 35 are the most active online communicators. Yet, they report feeling more isolated and lonesome than any other age group. Authentic friendships involve sharing our deepest secrets and dreams with the people we trust most. This sort of sharing doesn’t happen with our long lists of virtual friends. But despite their online friendships, many people find it difficult to have authentic friendships and are lonely. To some, it may be easier to communicate online. They may lack social skills and have trouble initiating a conversation with someone new. Or, they may find it easy to meet people but haven’t developed the skills to maintain friendships. Others may be highly sensitive and are easily hurt when someone is thoughtless. They may take things too personally, so they avoid personal interaction with people they don’t know very well. Some people will argue that online friendships