The Awkwardness of Running into an Internet Friend
Wednesday, 21. November 2007 - 7:33 am
It's happened to me that I've been out in public and seen someone who looked familiar. I did a double take, he noticed, so it was too late to pretend that we hadn't seen each other when the click of recognition occurred. We only knew each other from online profiles. Eek. Has this awkward situation happened to anyone else out there or is just a function of the small size of my city combined with the frequency with which I meet people online?
If this happens to you, you have a few options. The first is to turn away and pretend that you never spotted each other. This is fine if you don't ever interact online but if this is someone that you thought you'd eventually connect with, it's not the way to go. The next is to say a casual hello but not engage in conversation. This is the route that I took and the one I find to be most comfortable. The other option is to strike up a conversation. That may go smoothly, but it opens the door to further awkwardness. After all, the other person could be on a date with someone else from online, as was the case with the person I ran in to.