168: Answering the Call of Online Friendships (Solo Episode 32) with Rebekah Hargraves (Friendship Matters Series #5)

About two months ago, we kicked off a brand new solo podcast series based on a book I co-authored with my dear friend, Amber Durgan, entitled “Friendship Matters: Cultivating Meaningful Connections in an Isolated World”. Today we are focusing on chapter 5, a chapter that is all about online friendships. For Amber’s perspective on this chapter, head on over to her podcast episode tomorrow!

What I Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~The blessings that online friendships can be; the folly of believing them to be “less-than”

~Technology and the advent of online friendships

~How online friendships can fill a void often felt in our current culture

~The benefits of online friendships and the voids they can fill

~The downsides to online friendships and the voids they cannot fill

~How to cultivate and deepen online friendships

~Troubleshooting online friendships (i.e. – dealing with misunderstandings due to perceived tone, expectations, and more)

~How online friendships have been mightily used by God in my own personal life

~The importance of refusing to make the mistake of putting all your friendship eggs in one proverbial basket and only having online friends

~And more!

Resources Mentioned

Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth

Previous Solo Podcast Episodes

Friendship Matters: Cultivating Meaningful Connections in an Isolated World by Amber Durgan and Rebekah Hargraves

Previous “Friendship Matters” Episodes

Amber’s Friendship Matters Podcast Series

QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

“Oftentimes, when writers cover the topic of friendship, they show, perhaps inadvertently, a sort of disdain for online friendships. The thought comes through in their writing that perhaps online friendships are ‘less-than’, lacking in importance, or perhaps but a necessary evil in our current culture. That is not at all how we want to address the topic. Never underestimate the power of online friendships. They can be quite the blessing!”

“Somewhere deep down, regardless of each person’s theological outlook and understanding of man’s design by an intelligent Creator, we all – all over the world – know that we were made for community and friendship. So, in a culture that is not always all that conducive to building deep and abiding friendships, many busy and harried people in our culture of hustle now turn to the ease and convenience of online friendships to fill the void for community.”

“In an age when it can be challenging to pursue and cultivate in-person relationships, online friendships can be a great blessing in a number of ways.”

“Online friendships are wonderful and absolutely do have a part to play in our lives (two of my very best and dearest sister friends are women I met online!). But it is also true to say that there are downsides to online friendships, and there are voids they cannot fill in the same way as in-person relationships. Tangible, hands-on serving can not be done from one friend to another to quite the same extent if you do not live in the same town. It can also sometimes be hard to arrive at the same level and depth of intimacy with online friends as you can with in-person friends because you are not always doing life together to the same extent (though this has certainly not been an issue with the two friends I mentioned earlier!).”

“If there is one thing social media is notorious for, it is producing misunderstandings and hurt feelings. So, your communication skills are going to have to be strong in order for online friendships to deepen and flourish.”

“Online book clubs over Voxer or Marco Polo can be a fantastic way to grow deeper in your online friendships as you get to know one another better, are sharpened in your worldview and sanctification, and enjoy laughs along the way.”

“As important, worthwhile, and beneficial as online friendships are and can be, we do not want to make the mistake of putting all our friendship eggs in one proverbial basket and only having online friends. As we have seen, having online friends can and does fill many voids, but not all.”

WHERE YOU CAN FIND REBEKAH ONLINE:

Websites – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Instagram –@rebekahhargraves

Facebook – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Twitter – @hhomeandhearth

Podcast – Home and Hearth Podcast

To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes Have you been encouraged or inspired by today’s episode? If so, could I ask a little favor? If you could leave the podcast a rating and review in iTunes, that would be amazing! The more ratings and reviews a podcast receives, the more iTunes shows that podcast to other folks searching for shows to listen to, so by leaving me a rating and review, you truly are partnering with me in this podcast ministry to encourage and help as many women as we possibly can. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! Here’s how: If you’re on your computer:

Access iTunes on your desktop and type Home and Hearth in the search box on the upper right hand corner.
Click on the podcast photo when it comes up
Click on “Ratings and Reviews” beneath the podcast title
Under “Customer Reviews”, click on “Write a Review”
Click on how many stars you want to rate the podcast and then write out your review and click submit
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If you’re on your phone:

Open the podcasts app
Click the search button on the bottom righthand corner (the magnifying glass) and type in Home and Hearth in the search box that will appear at the top of your screen
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Click on the reviews button near the top middle of the screen
Scroll down a bit, if needed, until you see “Write a Review” and click on that
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