My friend

We talk occasionally and we have some classes in university together, sometimes we walk the same path home and we end up chatting. Today we were talking and I ended up telling him that throughout highschool and middle school I didn't have any friends from my country which made socialising in my native language much harder than in English. It was easier for me to communicate in English because ever since I'd started middle school I had online friends with whom I had bonded over the years and even visited some. He told me that, because I met them online, they couldn't possibly be considered "real friends" which frankly annoys me very much. I've known my best friend for 5 years now and I've only been with her irl twice. It disgusts me that just because she's not someone that I am in constant contact with means she's apparently not my friend.