Lost internet acquaintance

This is a phenomenon I often come across, not only counting my own experiences, but also the number of times I saw other people mention their own. I don't find the loss of in-person friendships as striking, as they fade far less often and much more slowly. On top of that, those instances tend to have more reasoning behind them.

Over the course of my 10 or so years of online presence, many personalities stuck with me, though with many I might never share another word. They were mostly met through online video-games, though sometimes it was through group chats which represented niche internet communities. Interests shift and people inevitably move from their past hobbies. Technology also changes—while software such as Skype used to rule communication, it was toppled by other options (which in many, including myself, caused frustration—but let's be honest, Skype didn't lack serious issues).

I can recall a significant amount of information regarding those people: their names, mannerisms, jokes, voices, internet profiles, and even some quotes.

In the end, I find solace in the thought that this might be for the best. It may be that these friendships are intended as temporary, with the amount of dissatisfaction never meeting cross-continental persons might bring. To me, the biggest issue is the time zone difference. You usually can't stay up four hours past midnight just for a couple of hours of fun. What brings me up is that online you can always easily run across the kindest people.