Thursday, November 20, 2008

Real Friends

I joined Facebook on Sunday in order to view a friend's baby's pictures. I had no idea when I joined that I'd soon find myself rushing home in the evenings to see who had "friended" me and written on "my wall." I've immersed myself in this online subculture and have been trying to figure out how it all works.

Besides the sheer volume of people on Facebook, I'm shocked by how easily people "friend" one another. Shortly after I joined, I received several friend invitations from people I consider acquaintances or friends of friends. I didn't know exactly what to do. These aren't people I would look to if I needed help but would probably speak to or wave at if I encountered them on the street. Yet, as far as I can tell, there's no "acquaintance" subgroup to put these people in. Similarly, I haven't found a subheading for those true blue friends who have seen me through some tough times and celebrated with me on the other side. Instead, each person's friend total is listed in one grouping: You have 62 Friends.

So to all of you who are addicted to Facebook like me, has it loosened your definition of what a "friend" is? If so, is that a bad thing? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

3 comments:

Renae said...

Hi Alyssa! Your post reminded me of this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26lives-t.html?_r=4&oref=slogin

Krista Sanders said...

I love that you posted these thoughts. It shows me how much you value your friendships-- you don't use the word loosely. One more reason I think you are so neat.

TJ Wilson said...

oh, you're exactly right - love the acquaintance idea.