PlayStation®Home General Discussion

[EdwCarnby]

Long Term Friendships On PlayStation Home:

Your thoughts!

Hiya!

For some of us we are soon approaching 5 years on the platform. Many have just had their 3 year service mile over the Christmas period. That amount of time is substantial enough to have formed bonds with others that stretch past being just mere play mates or fellow Homies, but something more personal and proper in the friendship zone. This topic will act as a discussion piece for you guys to share your experiences and thoughts on them!

My experiences have been varied. My friendships were mostly based on sharing an interest in the same activity rather than sharing an opinion on said activity or other things. We welcomed our diversity (sometimes reluctantly!) or grew to understand it. As with almost any friendship the element of trust has been at the forefront. These platonic relationships were somewhat different from the ones I've had in real life. Internet and world culture are still at times world apart so I guess for the benefit of all parties I at times found myself leading a double life with the Internet and real world. But all in all, the people I got to know (and unfortunately in cases may have fallen out with) have made Home half of what it is for me, which is still a heck of a lot. Thanks, guys and gals

Now it's your turn, people! Related questions:

• What makes a Home friendship for you?
• How do they differ from the ones you have in real life?
• What will happen to those ties with your pals once Home leaves us, or you all leave Home?
• With  Valentine's Day  coming up... a fun one!: Where do you draw the line between friendship and romance, and what complications do you find with these pairings / crossed wires in a virtual world?

P.S. I just turned 27

[KrazyFace]

Yup, I've been a Home member since its launch and over those years I've met and parted with quite a few different kinds of people. It's really been in the last year that I started to properly invest in Home, completely because of the turn my real lifestyle had taken. In the early days I found it difficult to understand why anyone would part with real money for non-existing things, but then realised their true value is in how often you use them within the platform it'self.

In all honesty its only been lately that I have discovered how easy it is to watch someone slip away from you in such an environment, and because of this I've decided to be a lot more careful about who I make friends with and be more cautious about how much of myself I invest in that friendship.

I think you're right Ed; the world isn't ready for the complexities of purely online friendships yet. Funny how those that know little of the platform's in's and out's are quick to call it a hot-bed of peadophiles and sex-pests, yet are quite happy to do the social network thing on things like Facebook. Makes me wonder what these people would say if they could intervene in say, a lover's sexy text conversation.

But I'm getting off (a very good) topic. To me, the bonds you can make as friends in Home can be just as those in RL. I often find myself thinking of my Home friends when I'm not in front of my PS3, just as I do about those I know in erm, reality. To me though, there's no big black line between a "real" friend and one from Home as the interaction is essentially the same, unless you're trying to be someone else. Therein lies the problem; some use Home to escape from themselves while others use it as an extension of themselves and when the two of those meet, things get strange.

When Home leaves us and we all loose touch, I can only guess I will think back on our times as friends much the same as I do with those I left behind from school or college. Lets hope it never comes to that, or we'll at least have the chance to bring our collections of clothes, furniture and friends with us to Sony's latest platforms.

[HoneyBee20]

Great topic btw Ed
My friendships on home are mostly girls so these people are and will just stay online friends. Tbh I don't really see them as friends, more of online gamer friends (to me theres a big difference. Some iv know for awhile but still don't give to much away about myself. I never will be fully open with someone like I would irl as it is the 'internet'. Not much to put really but thought id post it anyway.

[Guedes747]

• Most of my friendships on Home started by debating topics regarding games, Internet and world problems in general, the usual average conversation topics. I have made a lot of friends and met quite A LOT of interesting people since I first started playing on Playstation Home (2-3 years ago). From all the people I met and befriended, I can only say I only consider about 5% of them as true friends, people I can share personal stuff with, people I trust 150% .
• The way they differ from my real life friends is the fact they are mostly mature, a quality that is rare to find now days among your high school friends, fact... and that's about it basically.

• Regarding to the love subject... well I not much to say really.... I already found my soul mate.. distance is still an important issue for both of us, but it will stop being one as soon as I'm done with my Interior / Exterior Design Course
  

• What will happen to the ties between me and my pals once Home leaves us? Well.... there's allways Skype, MSN, Facebook, Google+, Twitter.... You get my point.

[Yehia18]

*Punches Thread in the face*

*Leaves*

[claremac90]

I've been on Home for nearly 2 years now and made , or so I thought , some good friendships with a few people . Now most of these people no longer use Home as much if not at all . The longest friendship I had was with a guy from Ireland and it lasted about 18 months , but I haven't seen him on PSN for nearly 6 months now . Now maybe this "friendship" meant more to me than him , he could just stop it where as I was a little sad and confused about the way it ended . TBH the fact that he's not on Home any more is the main reason I lost interest in , it because the biggest draw for me using Home is the people you "meet" and the conversations you have.

   I've never met any of my friends from Home in RL , there's no specific reason for this just never felt the need to . But the ironic thing is I was thinking of going to see my paddy friend when he disappeared from Home and now I have no way of contacting him . 

   I don't really know what I'm trying to say here , maybe I'm saying that I don't think long term relationships are a viable thing on Home  . Peoples lives change , work , family and may I say a " life " are all reasons why your friends may stop using Home so enjoy your Home friends while their there . 

   I'm sorry if this post is rather depressing but I'm just being honest about my Home experience , god I need a glass of wine after writing this  !!!!!!!    

[EdwCarnby]

Bless

It's important to note as said before friendship doesn't have to end with Home once you leave it.
Don't get too drunk btw!

[claremac90]

---

EdwCarnby wrote:
Bless

It's important to note as said before friendship doesn't have to end with Home once you leave it.
Don't get too drunk btw!

---

Drunk moi ????? 

[Wait-Jester-Sec]

I've been using home for about 3 years and i still have the first ever person i talked to as a friend, her and i have been friends for 3 yeas. also have 2 or 3 other close friends i have known for 3 years to. We go on home every weekend and talk. Havent had any dramas in those 3 years and hope we never do.

But to me good friendships make home worth using

[KrazyFace]

There was a little pang in me when I read your post clare...

Wine does suddenly sound like a good idea : /