Over an extended period of time it is possible to develop a friendship with a person on-line. Throughout many conversations, it is possible to become very close. Stories, secrets, and memories can be shared just like friends in reality. In heart and mind this person is considered to be a friend. Of course not, feelings are hurt in reality.
Emotions are unable to detect a distinction between material and virtual worlds.
Reality is simply made up of ideas we hold in our minds. Therefore, if reality is a sum total of the perceptions of the mind and the emotions it contains, how can we separate interaction in cyberspace, which takes place solely in the mind, with interaction in reality. Interaction that takes place in virtual worlds differs from person to person. Some people, caused most likely by the lack of social skills, could become dependant on interaction in a virtual world. It is possible that a person could spend so much time in a virtual world that they cannot differentiate between virtual worlds and reality.