3 Types of Corona Virus Friendships
There are many many many more types of friendships that have developed and flourished during Corona-time, but these ones are my favorites.
1. The Social Media Bestie
These are the people you’ve been “talking to” or touching base with every day via social media, whether it is sending each other Meme’s, responding to their stories, or sending them a “reply chug” snap. These are the people you bitch to every day about how bored you are, that make you feel less alone, but that you may never actually see after the Quarantine ends. You've established some common ground, have the same sense of humor, and are slowly learning more and more about their lives, but they probably won’t be the first person you call to go day drinking on a roof top once quarantine is over.
2. The One Hit Wonder
These are the people you Facetimed for three hours one time but haven’t talked to since. While you were Facetiming you caught up on every detail of your lives, drank too much wine, and laughed your asses off because you realized even though you haven’t chatted in awhile, you’ve been living parallel lives. You probably won’t check in with them for another month or so, but they still know you love them - and you enjoyed your time together more than words can describe.
3. The Weekly Check-in & Ghost
These are the people who send you a text to say they are thinking about you about once a week. You exchange a few texts, give them a little update, and then you both move on with your lives. You don’t really interact with these people on social media (otherwise they wouldn’t be texting you) and they’re not really the type to spend hours chatting with you about nothing like the One Hit Wonder. They are usually extended family members or distant friends in other countries or cities who care about you and want to makes sure you know that they are there for you if you need them, but don’t have the capacity to chat aimlessly like your Social Media Bestie. We love their effort all the same.
Regardless of what type of friend you are… each of these friendships are great for their own reasons. Even under normal circumstances, people feel pressure to check in with their friends to make sure they are okay - duh, that's what friends are for - but with everything going on in the world right now, that pressure has multiplied exponentially.
It's so easy to feel like you're not being a good friend because you haven't keep in touch with someone (for whatever reason). It's also easy to feel like you should be making more of an effort to maintain constant communication with the people you love, all the time, but sometimes when it comes down to it, the thought of reaching out to so many people and inviting all of their issues into your life can also feel super overwhelming, and do more harm then good.
The truth is, you don't have to be a "perfect friend" to everyone in your life, because the "perfect friend" doesn't even exist! If your friends know your intentions and if they pay attention to the things you do for them, they will understand that people show they care in different ways.
Ask yourself - Wouldn't you do the same for them? Oftentimes, it is much harder for us to show ourselves the same grace that we show to others during challenging times. I think it's time we start.
