You’ve Got a Friend in Me:

How facebook is changing the

meaning of riendshipBy: Patrick Ryan

Traditionally friendship has meant a personal, reciprocated relationship.

Image via octaviolopez (morguefile)

Image via Wikimedia Commons

“A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.” -William Penn

A friend is no longer defining title of a personal relationship but a verb used to

“friend” someone on Facebook.

Image via John Russell (Flickr)

Facebook is changing the definition of the word friend.

“One person can maintain a maximum of 150 personal social relationships...”

-Robin DunbarProfessor of Evolutionary Psychology

Oxford

“any more and they become un-personalized. Voyeurs into your little

world.”

Image via Wikimedia Commons

Image via kaysha (flickr)

Thanks to Facebook you now always know exactly how many friends you have... or don’t have.

A study conducted by PEW Internet found that in the sample conducted the average person had 245 friends.

Image via Ianus Keller (flickr)

Even 500+ Facebook friends is a common occurrence.

Source: Hampton, Keith et al., Why most Facebook users get more than they give

So most people have more Facebook friends than they can possibly maintain

REAL friendships with.

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To raise that number even further you must request a new friend. A strange concept for

traditional friendships.

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opened to the public in 2006

Image via Pixabay

That means for a 13 year-old ready to join Facebook for the first time this year, the concept of a Facebook friend has been around as long as they’ve been making friends.

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A PEW Internet study found that 1 in 6 online teens were connected to “friends” on social networking sites who they had not met in person...

Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary, Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks Image via Facebook.com

and 1 in 3 social networking teens had “friends” they had never personally met.

Image via Karti Gabor (morguefile)

Facebook changes the concept of a traditional friendship by allowing you to socialize with “friends” without ever having to meet them face-to-face.

If you have never met someone in person you can never be sure of

who they really are.

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A PEW Internet study found that: 43% of social networking teens have been approached online by a complete stranger, someone with no connection to any other friends

Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary, Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks

Image via mzacha (morguefile)

Girls aged 15-17 were the most likely to report some kind of stranger contact:

51% of the girls surveyed

Only 30% of boys in the same age group only reported similar contact.

Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary, Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks Image via Wikimedia Commons

Despite the large number of teens contacted by strangers online,

Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary, Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks

Image via Eve Arnold

65% just ignored the contact

This does not mean that they recognize a true friend.

Image via Alvimann (morguefile)

Although, teens are able to recognize “stranger danger”,

Facebook has the capability of maintaining friendships but it

should not create one.

Image via o0o0xmods0o0o (morguefile)

The definition of friend is a relative one. It is up to you to decide if someone is truly a friend or just an acquaintance on Facebook.

Image via lisasolonyko (morguefile)

Sources

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Teens-Privacy-and-Online-Social-Networks/6-Friendship-Strangers-and-Safety-in-Online-Social-Networks/01-One-in-four-online-teens-make-friends-on-social-networks.aspx

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Facebook-users.aspx

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/18--Social-Isolation-and-New-Technology.aspx

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Teens-Privacy-and-Online-Social-Networks/6-Friendship-Strangers-and-Safety-in-Online-Social-Networks/01-One-in-four-online-teens-make-friends-on-social-networks.aspx

Image via rilegator (flickr)