Are Facebook Friends Real Friends?

New media and the internet have redefined the boundaries and conditions of friendship and social relationships. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace have redefined the definition ‘friendship’ and for many, these sites have opened a portal towards meeting new people with similar interests, or perhaps mutual friends. The social networking sites have allowed for the expansion of the communication process across yet another easy to use medium, that is more attractive than an email or chat forum, or even a phone call, as it offers the all same features, with simplistic capabilities and the option of multitasking. And although for many of us Facebook users have not experienced the negative consequences for using such websites, they still exist and pose a threat to the future of social relations.

For many of us who grow and move through different areas of life, it could be school, university, different jobs, Facebook allows us to find and connect to people from all of these areas, even when they have passed through our lives and we no longer socially interact on a personal level any more. And as time goes by, a continuing appears to be that more and more people who were once part of your life, or have met you only a couple of times decide to be your friend on Facebook. So we have to ask ourselves, do we accept these people because are truly friends with them and plan to engage in further social relations in the future, or press that button which says confirm for voyeuristic purposes, to see and take a look at what other people may be up to?

In my own personal experience, on my departure from high school was met with several friend requests from people I went to school with, but had never engaged in any sort of conversation with in my life, which resulted in them being denied. Facebook and other sites should be for communication amongst the relevant people within our lives, and a social problem is that is has become about receiving high friend counts and viewing others’ personal information for the purpose of entertainment. Friendship is reduced and mocked in this sense, and with websites such as Facebook, we should be smart with our personal information, because at the end of the day, you don’t know who’s looking.