Is it possible to fall in love via social media and the phone but never meet the person face to face?

[Marj]

Yes, you can imagine what they look like or they can send you pictures on the Internet.

[Stella Mk 2]

I believe because it happened to me 10 years ago. My husband and I worked together 40 years ago for a short time - in 2002 he tracked me down for a book he was writing. We ended up writing to each other via email and instant messenger for almost a year . We never even phoned each other, and certainly didn't meet at all. And yet we fell in love !

Anyone who has no experience with this, might be sceptical about it , but it does happen a lot. And in these times of internet relationships, it will become more and more common I think. Its a very nice way to get to know each other - no physical aspect to it, and you are not distracted by appearances. You get to know the person's mind and thoughts instead of worrying about what they are wearing or what they look like.

My husband and I finally met after a year, at the airport . Lets just say, we've never been apart from that moment - we lived together for 5 years, and then got married and have been as happy as clams from that day onward.

[Get In Line]

This phenomenon is happening quite frequently since the advent of the internet and social networking sites...so much so that there is a TV series dedicated to "outing" the people who perpetrate these hoaxes. It's on MTV and it's called "Catfish - The TV Show". I've seen it a couple of times and it's actually pretty interesting.

I myself could not fall in love with someone I've never seen...and don't understand how anyone can.

[Igbo Naija Kwenu!]

Lol- my cousin was on Facebook and lied about being around her late twenties- she even posted fake pictures of herself- this cute guy requested her friendship. So they started talking and the more they talked the more the guy admitted how much he loved her- next thing you know he was asking her to marry him and come and move to Dubai to live with him.You could tell the pics of this guy were very legitimate and he looked normal, successful and cute- with a decent body- not VERY muscular but not anything lame. But it amazed me how much he was into her- yet he doesn't REALLY PERSONALLY KNOW her.... :/ >.> Well he is cute though...

[Spanky]

Sure, why not?

And these days there is skype too so you can see the person - just as normal as sitting across a table and having coffee together.

[lovestolaugh]

Years ago a divorced neighbor of mine met a guy on the Internet, then moved clear across the country to marry him. They had never met. So yes, it happens.

[CO the Old Dog]

Before the internet, there were stories of people who met through mail and fell in love.

edit: Consider that those who are raising the issues have never met the football player, know nothing about the young man's culture and just seem opinionated over nothing. Does it really matter to the rest of the world? even you? Leave that poor guy alone!

[Husker41]

Yes, my wife & I met in an on-line writers' group. I edited a book for her, and we fell in love working on it, before we ever met. We've been married over 12 years now, and are delightfully happy.

After we got married, she worked full time as a human interest reporter for a daily newspaper. I edited all of her stuff there, too, and she won a number of local, state & national prizes for her articles.

Yes, it is quite like the old tales of people falling in love via letters.

As for the football player, I think he was fooled for a while, but was embarrassed to admit it once he found out the girl wasn't real. That got him, and the school too, into a compromising situation.

[I Love Snow]

Yes, it happened to my sister.

[Oldman]

It goes without saying that it is the modern version of those long ago letter writing romances. And I know from experience how quickly it is possible to fall in love. But I don't believe you can Truly love someone in a romantic way, until you meet them. That's not to say however, that romantic love does not spring from these types of courtships. I believe what happens though, is that as people communicate through the Internet and get to tentatively know each other, they fall in love with the idea of loving this person. Then when they at last meet, if the person is all they expected, that love of the idea of loving them is immediately transferred to the actual person. Though that isn't the way we consciously think about it, it is however, the way the mind works.