How often do you see the good friends in your life?

What many women are finding is that between managing their career or business, playing chauffeur for kids, giving their homes some semblance of order and being the resident family crisis expert there is virtually NO time left to meet with the people who once held a special place in their lives.

Making matters worse is the ease, familiarly and utility of the Internet. From shopping for ourselves and our families, to searching out answers to life’s daily issues, the Internet is often responsible for carving out a chunk of what little down time we have.

According to the recent report “Women Online: Taking a New Look” almost 52% of Americans who are online are women.  Women enjoy the way the Internet enhances our lives, from finding deals to finding support and even friendship.

But at what expense to our non-virtual, every day lives?

Some women explain that developing online relationships has been wonderful–so much so that they are beginning to lose touch or even the same interest in some non-virtual friendships.  When networks like Twitter and social groups for women in business or with various interests become a vital part of an already overloaded calendar, it’s easy to lose touch with those friends who live close to you.

A Duke University study found that in the last two decades the number of people that Americans can count as confidants and good friends that they meet with face-to-face, has dropped from around 3 people to 2.

Sociologists agree that having  fewer close friends in our lives has an impact.  Our friends give us advice, moral support and an emotional safety net that can be extremely important for our well being especially when going through stressful times. Those are often the times when a “virtual” hug is not enough.

So enjoy your career, your business, make yourself available to your kids, your husband/partner/relatives…but don’t forget about the time you need for real, genuine friendships outside of your family circle.

Make an appointment to meet that good friend you haven’t seen in years, even if you’re not up to having a friend over because you haven’t  cleaned up the mess left by a house full of teens or paperwork from your business/career.  That’s what coffee shops are for.

There’s something practically theraputic about looking into the eyes of a good friend as you laugh over a joke or a memory that only the two of you can appreciate.