It’s International Friendship Day! A day to celebrate the people who love you for your memes, but also when you’re sad. Social media has become a big part of our lives, so it makes sense that friendships would be formed on these platforms. Many people assume, however, that they cannot be more than superficial.

These stories prove that wrong.

Raff and Jon

Friends for around two years now, they only officially met a year ago after Raff organised a group of Twitter friends contribute to a spa voucher for Jon and his boyfriend after a very tough period.

“My favourite thing about him is how succinct he is. Particularly about social issues like mental health, BLM or LGBTQI+ issues. He's able to explain ‘complex’ concepts in a way that is clear and easy to understand for people who refuse to hear them, like boomers, misogynists or homophobes,” says Raff about Jon.

Shanté and Nadine

These two Cape Town moms met at an Instagram picnic: “…she unfurled her blanket next to mine, sat down and the way we spoke was just as easy as breathing. No pretence,” says Shanté.

When Nadine went through a tough time, Shanté says: “… I knew that I needed to have her back in an almost warrior-like fashion. That whilst she was courageous and bold, she was also human and needed someone to let her let go and be unjudged and protected. She has done the same for me on many occasions.

“...we just have this deep respect of where the other stands.”

Charl, Alice, Tony and Nando

Charl’s “crew” created what they call The Paper Wish.

“One person would get the others to send pictures of what they think represent the person [whose birthday it is],” explains Charl. Everyone in the group would take selfies with a printed collage of the images and then tweet it to the birthday person and they would then receive wishes from all over the world throughout the day.

Alice, Tony and Nando have become his closest connections from this group and he has visited each of them in their home towns of Cape Town, Melbourne and New York.

Social media can someimes be spoken about very negatively, but it can still also be a great place to meet people and who know's you might also find your best mates online

Whatever way you’re keeping up with your friends, remember that you can still be #Datawyze on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp