In the modern times, the definition of friendship has come to be changed due to the enormous influence of technology and social media. In fact, the technological boom has holistically transformed the nature of communication among people all over the globe. This change in the form of communication has come to reflect its major effect on the inter-personal relationships of people in the modern world. A close scrutiny of the gradual transformation in communication style and its impending effect would enable one to have a much better idea about the metamorphosis of inter-personal equations in the present times. It would be easier to gauge the dynamics among people in the present era of technological communication with reference to the article by Akst who delves deep into the effects of technology on human bonding.
It needs to be reckoned that Akst goes on to highlight how communication over the Internet has come to take its toll on the interactions in the real domain of existence. In context of friendship, one needs to understand that spending time with the other person is one of the most important factors of developing a close bond with the individual. (Akst 84) This might include chatting face-to-face, or partying, or travelling or anything enjoyable that would effectively work to enhance the bond and trust between the people. This was possible at a time when there were lesser distractions in life, but the present era of technological boom has brought immense distractions that mar the chance of spending time with other people in real. “Popular wisdom as well as some of the psychological and philosophical literature associate happiness with (temporary) pleasure at the satisfaction of desire and with positive or desirable emotion.” (Demir 6) This can be achieved by spending time with friends. But, in today’s time, people are engaged in spending time on the social media platforms or the applications on their smartphones. Thus, there can be no denial of the fact that there has been a fundamental change in the pattern of human communication in the modern world.
The entire nature of inter-personal communication as well as relationship is getting affected by the dominance of social media communication instead of face-to-face interaction. This definitely shows its effect on the current form of friendship in the society that is making the individuals lose people they could rely upon as genuine and true friends who would be there in times of need. One needs to understand the fact that social media mediated communication might very well neutralize the impacts of non-verbal communication or gesticulation. Also, the absence of the physical self in a common ambiance with a perceived friend would lessen the chances of getting bonded with the other person. Closeness of friendship in the present era has got reduced to the customizations of groups ascertaining the list of friends and their categories. This stands in stark contrast to the notion of true friendship that is supposed to bind people through the number of preferences and interests in life.
This scenario of lack of face-to-face communication has brought about huge transformations in relationships and psyche of people. While people would find their friends in happiness and weary times providing support and companionship, today the scenario is very much different. The friendship that is made online is not as strong as the ones made through spending time together like it was done previously. As such, in times of need, one does not find anyone by the side for any sort of help or support. Now, it is obvious that if a person does not have others in times of need, he or she is bound to feel lonely. Also, sharing emotions and feelings over the online platforms is not as effective as it is in face-to-face communication. Thus, it can be comprehended that the very notion of friendship has come to get changed in the present era. At present, friendship seems to be dependent on social media platforms, smartphone chatting applications and video calls, instead of hanging out together, having fun and enjoying in a group.
Akst correctly points to the fact that without friends one’s life would be sad and void. Since man is a social being, it is one of the basic characteristic needs to stay around people who can be relied upon. Besides, friends can be a very effective source of advice, companionship, support and encouragement in life. (Akst 86-87) However, as the modes of communication have come to get changed in the present times, lives of people are becoming much more private than before. Socializing has become greatly dependent on technology and Internet, in stark juxtaposition to spending time with friends in parks, restaurants or clubs. Even if a person opts to spend time with his or her friends in the physical domain of existence, the time spent is too less in comparison what it used to be some years back. As such, man is needed to become more self-reliant in nature.
One can definitely opine that technology, in fact, opens up further avenues of communication neutralizing the distance and time. But, having got used to such convenient form of communication with near and dear ones, people have come to pay less heed to the importance of spending time with friends. Thus, people ought to become lonely as the very definitions and notions of inter-personal relationship in this society change in the course of time. It would not be an exaggeration to opine that the virtual domain of existence has taken over the physical world which had the potential of strengthening bonds, increasing social circle and rejuvenating the minds. The entire notion of friendship has changed with the word ‘friendship’ being weighed by the virtual parameters of information sharing and communication.
For instance, one can take the example of social networking sites like Facebook ad Twitter that make people across the society spend a number of hours online interacting with other people. Even people belonging to the same family might use the social media platforms for interaction. Although the modes of communication have changed due to the advancement in technology, the human need of socialization and interaction have remained the same. Surely, it is not possible for a person to not have any friends at all. There can be no denial that the bond of friendship is the very key to make a healthy society where people would care for one another. One still requires other people, whom he or she can trust, rely on and share the emotions with. As such, the bond of friendship would always remain relevant to the human society as it constitutes the basic essence of human nature. Friendship is the core content of civil and social life of humans, and has positive effects on the wellbeing of the individual. (Harré & Moghaddam 43)
While it is not possible to thwart the predominance of online communication in the modern day world, one needs to understand that inter-personal relationships ought to depend a lot on technologically mediated communication. However, Akst rightly points that people need to keep the essence of the genuineness in relationships as they existed before. Also, people have to be aware of the potential of the technological mediums to lead to shallow conversations sans any sharing or understanding of emotions as such. The very basic constituents of the bond of friendship are trust and sharing of emotions. “Two persons are friends when they both express disinterested well-wishing towards each other and when they are aware of each other’s attitude.” (Caluori 12) However, this scope is too less if the people involved base their bond on online interactions. Friendship is like a familial bond that is defined by closeness and understanding. More the emotional distance between the people, lesser would be the friendship. Hence, one needs to comprehend the true meaning of friendship rather than comprehending the bond based on the parameters set by the modern times driven by technological communication and transformation in inter-personal relationships.
“Although social critics fear that technologically mediated communication is eroding ‘genuine’ face-to-face relationships, several studies indicate that communication technologies are capable of fostering rich, deeper connections by extending intimate contacts across barriers of distance and time” (Chambers 1). Hence, rather than alienating oneself from the social domain of existence in the real world, social media should be used to supplement face-to-face communication instead of replacing it. Akst is correct in pointing to the fact that an individual should endeavor to strike a right balance between activity in the physical domain of existence and the virtual world of communication. Technology cannot be allowed to become a roadblock to human relationships in any way. Technology and social media should be rather used for facilitating bonds of friendship making way for unhindered communication among friends. Everyone needs to understand the importance of friendship in human life so as to be able to value the bond instead of getting swayed by the shallowness of communication on the social media platforms.
Works Cited
Akst, Daniel. “America: Land of Loners?” pp.84-90.
Caluori, Damian. Thinking about friendship: historical and contemporary philosophical
perspectives. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.
Chambers, Deborah. Social Media and Personal Relationships: Online Intimacies and
Networked Friendship. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.
Demir, Melikşa, ed. Friendship and Happiness: Across the Life-Span and Cultures. New
York: Springer, 2015. Print.
Harré, Rom & Moghaddam, Fathali M., eds. The psychology of friendship and enmity:
relationships in love, work, politics, and war.
