I believe that I have developed numerous friendships online. I feel that I am good friends with a few people I have never yet met. I can well imagine that love could be nurtured to some degree in the same way. But, at the end of the day, there is no substitute for face-to-face contact.

There are many, many subtleties that a careful reader can pick up on in the written word. But as JenEllen points out, facial expressions can tell mountains of information with never a word being spoken.

In this medium we are using right here, right now, there is no such thing as looking up and noticing that someone has been watching you from across the room. There is no sweet scent of patchouli marking the spot where she stood. There is no slight crinkle in her cheek as she smiles. And the silver cascade of her laughter...

I prefer "live and in person". I will put up with cyber friendships, for example, because all too often a face-to-face encounter is not in the cards at present.