RtS brings up an interesting point. For centuries there have been successful relationships that have resulted from "pen pal" correspondence. While was as true then as it is now that people can always fabricate things about themselves, certainly not everyone did/does. There are countless stories of lonely male settlers in the American West who had such correspondences. Many of those resulted in successful marriages. Some Americans possibly have such a story within their families.

But the bottom line is that in all of the stories I have ever heard of pen pals or email buddies or chatroom romances, face-to-face meeting was ALWAYS the next step. That step was the make-it-or-break-it for the relationship. We are humans. We need to see one another. We need to touch and to be touched. We can only hang in (cyber)limbo for just so long before needing to pursue this undeniable urge.