From letters and lunches to Facebook and Twitter; our forum for friendship and all it entails has changed dramatically over the years. Does anyone remember having a pen pal? Call me old fashioned, but I miss the excitement of seeing the flag on the mailbox flip up as the mailman (ahem, mail person) drives away.
It is not only our idea of friendship that has been recreated over the last five years, but our lifestyles. Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone states that "we sign fewer petitions, belong to fewer organizations that meet, know our neighbors less, meet with friends less frequently, and even socialize with our families less often."
The evolution of Web 2.0 and it's social networking sites have changed how people interact with each other. We are now able to call someone a friend without ever having met them and carry on an engaging conversation without picking up our telephone, or leaving our houses. We can update our status to let our 3000 best buddies know what we are up to 24 hours/day.
It is possible, that quality of friendship today has been sacrificed for quantity?
Are we more interested in collecting friends and social capital than we are in maintaining our real life connections?
If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, you may know exactly what I am speaking of. If not, please sign on, observe and experience these social networking sites. We would love to hear about your experiences and opinions.
by: Melanie
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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