Social Media And Its Impact On Society

Nevertheless, it can lead one to believe that they have a better understanding of an individual and their relationship with them than it actually is. Social media can blur the lines between who is a true friend and who is a stranger we know things about.

Today the estimated Facebook online user amount is around 1,590 million users, that's the largest social media network, and Facebook being a social media site means all those people are connected and benefit from that. All of those users can talk and post to each other and stay connected to other places. Even though it isn't always necessary to talk to someone all the time, it is important that you stay updated with how things are going in other places or how others are. Someone who doesn't use any form of social media are very limited to

According to Aristotle, one can experience three different types of friendship. The first type is a friend who is used for utilitarian purposes. Aristotle, however, quickly dismisses this type. As an example, Aristotle explains that one could never be friends with wine; while wine is satisfying to the person drinking the wine, no person ever wishes wine good fortune (Aristotle, 32). In order for a relationship between two people to be considered a friendship, one must want good things for the person who they consider their friend and vice versa (Aristotle, 32). Aristotle continues to describe another type of friendship, which is friendship for pleasure. According to Aristotle, young adults are most likely to pursue pleasure-related friendships, because the young are more likely to live to please their emotions; they develop friendships and erotic relationships quickly (Aristotle, 33). Aristotle notes that since young people make decisions based on their emotions, they are quick to change passions, friendships, and lovers (Aristotle, 33). Although both parties receive equal pleasure in this type of friendship, Aristotle says that it is not a complete type of friendship because it is short-lasting (Aristotle, 33). Aristotle considers only one type of friendship to be complete, and that is friendship that is devoted to the other person’s virtue. This type of friendship, Aristotle says, is a friendship that is developed slowly and infrequently; this is the only type of

We are social creatures. We surround ourselves with other human beings, our friends. It is in our nature. We are constantly trying to broaden the circumference of our circle of friends. Aristotle understood the importance of friendship, books VIII and IX of the Nicomachean Ethics deal solely with this topic. A modern day definition of a friend can be defined as “one joined to another in intimacy and mutual benevolence independently of sexual or family love”. (Oxford English Dictionary). Aristotle’s view on friendship is much broader than this. His arguments are certainly not flawless. In this essay I will outline what Aristotle said about friendship in the Nichomachaen Ethics and highlight possible

In the article of Clive Thompson I’m so Totally, Digitally Close to You. Thompson talk about how social media have changed people’s life, and one of the issue he talks about Facebook. How Mark Zuckerberg has completely changed the world by creating a social website. Thompson not only focus on Facebook, but he brings up Twitter as well and how that site has changed people emotional relationships. He claims that dealings with these networking sites and others sites are similar because it offer same information about a person. However, social networks have changed many people’s identity by allowing to befriend and connecting with more people and more efficiently. Unfortunately, social media have also limited many face to face conversations with family and friends. Although, social networking sites are efficient in providing ways to communicate, we need to limit our use of social networking sites in order to become stronger as individuals and emotional of our relationships. Being dishonest with the social networking sites can eventually collapse the true value of a friendship. This sites are

In Aristotle’s book Nicomachean Ethics, book eight; he talks about three different types of friendship. Aristotle believes in three different types of friendship, the three being utility, pleasure, and good/virtue. Friendship that is based off of utility is good for the sake of some other end. Meaning that people are only friends with one another because they both benefit from it. A friendship based off of pleasure is one where both people are attracted to one another based off of what they look like and who they are as a person.

The beginning of Book eight of the Nicomachean Ethics states that friendship is a “kind of virtue and it is also most necessary for living” (Book VIII, 1155a, 1-2). Friendships connect to all walks of life, with friends we can help young from making mistakes and assist the elderly in life through their delicate state they cannot do themselves. The most significant power friendship has is the ability to hold communities and how it’s closely connected to justice (Book VIII, 1155a, 20-26). Which is interesting because it seems that by human nature we strive for the sense of harmony in a community. We aim for happiness between community members and happiness as a whole. Aristotle later comments that a possession of many friends are one of the fine things of life and it is a splendid thing to obtain.

In his time, Aristotle wrote many works on different topics. In arguably one of his most popular works, Nicomachean Ethics, specifically in Book 8, he explores the virtue of friendship. He believes that there are three branches of friendship: that of utility (where two parties derive some benefit from each other), of pleasure (where two parties come together for the sake of pleasure received) and that of the good (where two parties of similar good virtues come together, admire one another for it and help each other strive for more goodness). The last of these types is of the highest form, with Aristotle describing it to be ‘perfect’. It is also naturally permanent unlike the other two, because these friends are not concerned about any other external factor outside of the other’s personality and virtues.

With 50% of users logging on to Facebook everyday and more than 35 million users updating their status’s everyday (Facebook a, 2010), it posses the question what effect are social networking sites, mainly Facebook, having on our friendships? Are we extending our social networking and enriching them? Or are the effects of the ease and accessibility of a ‘friend’ demeaning our relationships?

First, friends that are made online cannot be true friends. Nigel Holt of Psychologies Magazine told a story about Simone Back, a 42 year old woman from Brighton City. He starts by saying "One Christmas she posted to all of her Facebook friends 'Took all my pills be dead soon so bye bye everyone'. There were 150 online responses, including taunts and bickering. No one who lived

The concept of friendship and what makes a friendship may seem simple depending on what people look for in friendships. Some people may have friendships that are solely based on pleasure or it is because it is useful to them in their time of need or a friendship that gives the person both pleasure and usefulness. A person may have these types of friendships with different people. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, brings up what the best kind of friendship is. A long-lasting friendship is the best kind (Aristotle 221). This is an important concept when it comes living a good and ethical life. It is not only important to know why some friendships do not last long, but it may also help a person figure out if the friendship they have with

Fake friends is not referring to people whom you cannot trust, but to the friends that you have on Facebook and do not actually see in real life. This is a trend that has been seen on most social media websites. It is also a lot harder to develop true friendships in real life because, as mentioned before, our unrealistic expectations of friends has made us want the kinds of friends we see on TV. "Facebook, in fact, only underscores how much traditional friendship — friendship in which you meet, talk and share — has become an anachronism and how much being ‘friended’ is an ironic term," expresses Gabler. As mentioned before Social media networks like Facebook make it seem as though we have more friends than we actually do. However, in reality we do not really know most of the people we are friends with on Facebook because being with friends on Facebook is more about the number and not if you actually know the person or not. Not only do we not know most of our friends on our friends list, but we get lazy to actually go out and make real friends. It is just so much easier to stay at home and click the ‘add’ button. Gabler also points out, “One study found that Americans had one-third fewer nonfamily confidants than they had 20 years earlier, and 25% had no one in whom to confide whatsoever. Another study of 3,000 Americans found that on

“No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world (Aristotle).” Humans are social beings, social beyond any other creature in the world. Human interaction is a must for survival. It is in our nature. Aristotle understood this, he even had his own analysis of friendship. In the Nicomachean Ethics written by Aristotle, books VIII and IX are based off of friendship. Today, the definition of a friend is, “A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations (Oxford Dictionary).” To Aristotle, friendship is much more than this. In this research paper, I will evaluate whether or not Aristotle’s analysis of friendship is applicable to the modern world.

There are three kinds of friendship, according to Aristotle. The first type of friendship based on utility. In this type of friendship, both individuals get some sort of benefit from their friend. The second type of friendship is based on pleasure. Here, both individuals are drawn to the other’s personality, looks, or other pleasant qualities. The third and final type of friendship is based on goodness, in which the individuals admire their friend’s goodness and in which they help one another in their pursuit for happiness. The first two friendships are mostly accidental, due to the friends being more motivated by their own pleasure and utility and not by anything essential to their friend. Both kinds are short-lived because one

The term “friendship” has really changed over the years as technology has begun to advance. In “What I Didn’t Write About When I Wrote About Quitting Facebook,” Michael Erard exaggerates the way people react to others quitting social media, specifically Facebook (Erard 161). Erard implies that the people who we are friends with on social media, aren’t necessarily our friends who we see every day and have a special bond with: “Then, as one does with one’s friends, I would call each person up or