Staying Connected (internet friends, celebrities etc)

The concept of internet friends is odd to a lot of people, because you're making friends with people who you physically have never met and especially sounds odd to people of an older generation. But Internet friends are defined as friends who you've made online due to particular interest. Like me for instance I've recently become fond of the Spider-man actor Tom Holland and through the interest of liking him through commenting on people's posts I've managed to become friends with some of those people. It's been so great because you're able to talk to people with a similar interest to you from all over the world such as I'm in a group chat where I talk with girls from America, England, Germany, Australia, and all over and yes they're real people not robots or 60 year old men! And they're all around my age being 18 to about 23. We talk almost all the time and not just about Tom Holland but about all sorts of things in our lives.

The great thing about having internet friends is that you meet people from all over the world such as my closest internet friends being from the U.S and Australia. But the other great thing about having internet friends especially in my case for meeting them through being a fan of something is that we are more able to be ourselves because we don't sound as insane or crazy compared to when we are around our actual friends who would probably think we're insane. The great thing is that my internet friends and I have become quite close to the point where we talk about almost anything. But one thing that sucks about having internet friends is that they're usually on the other side of the world which means that timezones are completely different and obviously we can't physically meet.

The great thing about the internet though is that it makes the world seem smaller as you are able to connect with people all around the world. Even celebrities because 20 years ago getting noticed by someone you admire was looked at as being impossible but now with the internet celebrities are able to connect with their fans more to the point where we feel like friends of theirs rather than 'fans'. To me celebrity is a strange concept because what defines a celebrity? I was listening to a podcast by Tom Holland's dad and brother Dom and Sam Holland talking about the concept of celebrity, as Tom's brothers Sam and Harry have become famous because of Tom, and they were discussing whether they were classified as celebrities. For me I don't seem them as celebrities but I understand that they are somewhat famous because of Tom's success, but I just see them as regular human beings.Even Tom who's become a well known actor now because of Spider-man.Because to me celebrity can have a negative connotation as it's like we are putting people on a pedestal just because they're good at something. Because most actors I look up to I see them as celebrities but at the same time I see them as regular people which I suppose is a good thing. Because if I were to meet them I'd treat them like normal people and I know celebrities enjoy that more. Such as Jake Gyllenhaal said in an interview that he'd rather have a chat with a supporter rather than take a picture, because he feels more 'normal' and feels more genuine.

But with social media fans and celebrities feel more connected with each other because as fans we are able to see more of who they are. Such as celebrities are able to comment on their fans posts and go live on Instagram which is also a good way to make them feel more connected. Therefore through social media it doesn't seem like they're unreachable and can see them as normal human beings. However there are famous people who I'd consider to be celebrities and others I wouldn't because of their persona. Such as actors like Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Chris Pratt, Zendaya, etc to me they don't feel like 'celebrities' because they display a persona that makes them seem like regular people as in they're more down to earth. Which is a good way to be in the industry they're in a for me I see them as people who are just really good at what they do for living, and seem like the kind of people that I could sit in a bar and have a chat to. Because they seem so genuine.

Anyway back to internet friends, so during lock down obviously we aren't able to go and meet new people, and since I was a fan of certain people I would comment on fan's posts and then from there follow each other and end up direct messaging each other for hours. Such as I've become close friends with a girl who's from the US because we have the same interests in celebrities, and we'd message each other for hours on end, and have been friends now for maybe two months. Even though we've never physically met, it feels like we've known each other for years.

Although it's important to have real life friends, I've found having internet friends is just as good because although I haven't physically meet them we talk as though we have met. If anyone reading this has internet friends don't let go of them.

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Thank you for reading hope you all enjoyed this weeks post!! I'm currently back at University therefore due to my schedule there may not be as many blog posts, but I'm making sure to post one every week. Comment your thoughts on this post it maybe a little rough, but comment what you all thought about it, and hope you all enjoyed this!!

Thanks Madi xxx

Instagram: @madicullen99