internet bestie

/ˈɪntərnɛt ˈbɛsti/

Common

A close online friend you have never met in person but feel deeply connected to.

Usually said with warmth and sincerity. Sometimes self-aware about the oddness of the dynamic, but rarely dismissive of it.

Real-world examples4 examples

#	Example	What it means	Source
01	my internet bestie sent me a care package out of nowhere i'm crying	A close online friend sent a physical gift, making the connection feel deeply real.	x, 2023
02	we've been talking every day for two years and she's still just my internet bestie. we need to fix that	Acknowledging a long, close online friendship while expressing a desire to meet in person.	x, 2024
03	everyone needs an internet bestie who lives in a different timezone so someone is always awake for you	Pointing out a practical benefit of having a friend in a different part of the world.	tiktok, 2024
04	she knows more about my life than my irls do. internet bestie of the year	An online friend is more connected to the speaker's daily life than their real-world friends.	instagram, 2023

Use it when

You just follow each other casually.Use “moots” instead.
You admire someone online but they do not know you exist.Use “parasocial” instead.

An internet bestie is a real two-way friendship. Both people know each other and actively communicate.

Parasocial describes a one-sided relationship where one person follows another who does not know them personally.

A natural combination of 'internet' and 'bestie', reflecting the growth of online-first friendships in the 2010s and 2020s.

Use this stable URL to reference the entry.

https://slang.fyi/internet-bestie

Updated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0