Social Networking And Social Media

I have many Facebook friends. Some are past and present students from high school and college, friends from camp, church, and some are coworkers past and present. I have also made many new friends and met in real life for lunch or starbucks several times. For me, Facebook works as an easy way to build new networking friendships and invest in the friendships you already have. Are all of our Facebook friends actually our friends? It’s socially clumsy to think that they are. But that is okay. Networking and online friendships have their own rewards. A few of the friends I have met on Facebook have become very good friends. While I may never meet all of them in person, I am very grateful for them. With the busyness of our lives, Facebook helps me to keep up my friendships.

In the last ten to fifteen years accompanying the dawn of social media, means of communication among friends and strangers have been easier than ever. Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has grown into the largest social media site on the Internet with 30 million users and counting. The ability to catch up with former high school friends who are now across the country or see how an aunt in Pittsburgh has been doing since the birth of her son are now as simple as the click of a mouse. However, the amount of “friends” acquired on social media may not be an accurate reflection of how many close relationships one truly shares. In an article from Bigthink.com titled “Do You Have Too Many Facebook Friends?”, Steven Mazie gathers research from Pew Research Center about statistics surrounding Facebook

A quick check of Facebook feeds shows that bffs Chloe, Zoey and Joey are, respectively, moving to the next level on Farmville, complete with a new piglet; enjoying a “yummmmy” frappe at Starbucks; and updating her status to single and searching. Such is the electrifying information that so many college students today seem to think they must be constantly monitoring or the world will cease to spin on its axis. Statistics show that the average 18-24-year-old Facebook user has 649 friends (MarketingCharts), and while 649 seems like an extreme number of people to claim as close, personal acquaintances, many college students today likely have "friended"

It has come to the point with social media, that humans are not actually making friends to be close buddie, but to have a bunch of them so much that it has come to the fact that it is like they are “collecting” friends for the fun of it. This means that instead of connecting with each other and making new companions from all over the world, it is now such as a game to see who can collect or receive the most friends, which is making connecting as best friends harder to do these days and eventually associates will become so disconnected that they stop being peers. Also instead of using the word friends as a noun, like it should be used, it is now being used as a verb, thanks to many different social media platforms. Such as adding a friend on Facebook. This shows that using the word friend is not as meaningful because it is now used as a verb. An action that people can do, such as friend someone. It is not their actual friend, yet someone they have just added to a collection of other people, showing that human beings as a race are becoming increasingly more disconnected from each other at are not relating or socializing in a public area. Being called a friend is not as special as it use to be before technology companies made more

“‘...a misunderstanding of the very notion of friendship in an age when ‘friend’ is used as a verb...the authenticity of one’s relationships has an enormous impact on one’s health and well-being… ‘It’s easier to say what friendship is not and, foremost, it is not instrumental.’” Friendship in this day and age is automatic or online. Friendship should not be unauthentic in a way where it can impact a person’s well-being or health. The connection between two friends needs to be personal and not through a phone or tablet screen. In the 21st century, the word ‘friend’ is being used as a verb and not as a compliment or label.

Alex Pattakos is right about warning us of the meaning of friendship in social medias because my own researches and experiences has shown that the friends you assume you have in social medias are just numbers rather than true friends.

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

Is Facebook helpful or a hindrance for friendships? Author Kate Dailey tries to answer this question in her essay titled “Friends with Benefits: Do Facebook Friends Provide the Same Support as Those in Real Life?” She starts out questioning the use of Facebook after one of her Facebook friends “Sue” posts about the death of her son. After much thought and debate she concludes that Facebook can be a platform to spread news whether good or bad to large groups of people. This accessibility makes Facebook helpful to keep in touch with friends from the past and also allows one to keep in contact with several hundred people without feeling overwhelmed.

It is no secret that social media has taken over a lot of our time, and perception on society. It influences our day to day lives without us really knowing. Social media usually portrays one’s life to be perfect, or it makes us feel like one’s life needs to be perfect. For this reason being, social media can be a bad thing. In "The Social Networks" by Neal Gabler, he explains how media has taken away the meaning of friendship or anything 'real'. In the long run, social media makes things seem better than they actually are, it gives us unrealistic expectations for our friend and family interactions, which kills the chance of having actual friendships because our expectations are so high. So, here are the reasons elaborated on why social media

The word friend is attached to a person when you realize the two of you have something in common. The friend role is than facilitated. It provides a growth of structure and roles, from this structure extended family development modes of being and becoming. The important of friend’s role are communicated as a fixed and significant point in one life. The bond between friends may or may not be broken with each stage of a person education level. True friends will be the same the same at any stage of your live. They will always provide a sense of security and continuity with you and your family. When you life is being stripped from almost all other aspects of live the true friend remain constant. Most of them are on your face book page.

Aristotle suggest, “The desire for friendship comes quickly. Friendship does not.” Have you ever asked yourself what exactly is a friend? Is it someone you can call when times get tough, or perhaps someone who comments on your posts every day? How many friends do you have total on social media and do they know you personally? Knowing a person for a long period of time and being there as their life revolves can describe true friendship. A friend is someone with similar experiences, trials and tribulations, or just simply someone who has the same goals and sense of humor. Being a real friend takes time and it does not compare to all the “likes” you get on your social media. On another note, social media is said to be an addition to the strong bonds of friendships. Lovenheim, Silver, Deresiewicz, Pickard, and Kituku, all are authors with different outlooks when it comes to social media and friendships. Some of these authors agree, while the others disagree. Online friendships can only survive when there is effort being made.

Making friends is an essential part of growing up. When we're younger the friends we choose are often made shallowly. Children may befriend other children who have the favorite color as them. Or when you are a teenager you might befriend someone because they like the same musical artist as you. The older you get the more you realize these friends play a special part in your life. These people have different traits from their personality that appeals to you in one way or another. Either way, friends play an important part in a person's life. Friends are there to help you and provide support. Friends can also be used as a scapegoat when life is just becoming a bit much they can help you calm your nerves by just simply being there. Some people might look for loyalty, humor, and honesty in a friendship. There are four main types of friend's fake friends, social gatherers, acquaintance’s, and best friends.

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

With the development of advances in technology, communication through social networking has risen immensely. Communicating is not only less complicated, it is also relatively inexpensive. “Many teens in relationships view social media as a place where they can feel more connected with the daily events in there significant other’s life, share emotional connections, and let their significant other know they care” (Lenhart, Anderson, and Smith). However, the ease of access to social networking has allowed many adolescents to become overly involved. Networking has the potential to influence adolescents both emotionally and physically which in turn may lead to negative behaviors. An article from procon.org stated, “The use of social networking sites is correlated with personality and brain disorders, such as the inability to have in-person conversations, a need for instant gratification, ADHD, and self-centered personalities, as well as addictive behaviors” (ProCon.org). Essentially, social networking has rising negative influences on teens because of increased cyber bullying, lack of respect for personal privacy, and its addictive qualities.