1 new friend request!

By Michelle Giametta on 05/18/2009

Question: Are Social Networks changing are physical friendships?

In the health section of a recent New York Times article, "Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age." According to the article, the importance of friendship is often underestimated as it pertains to our "psychological well-being." The way in which we communicate with one another has drastically changed in the last five years or so with the explosion of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and more recently Twitter.

Before the availability of social networking sites, lack of time and distance put a strain on personal relationships. It was hard to stay in contact with people you didn't encounter on a regular basis. Now, these social networking sites allow us to instantly communicate with people all over the world and join charitable causes we might not have even heard of pre-social networking sites. Is it possible that interacting with friends and family through these social networking sites is improving our health?

In this new digital age, social networking sites have enabled people to create and develop their own unique online identities. These identities change who we are, how we relate to others and ourselves, and what we want people to know about us. Through websites like Facebook and MySpace a person can choose who they want to be "friends" with, what pictures they want people to see of them and update their "statuses" on a minute-by-minute basis. A major portion of the world has become obsessed with logging on to Facebook to answer their "friend requests" or look at their latest wall post from a friend or family member.

The term "friend" is used loosely in the world of social networking. Many people are able to overcome their inhibitions through online communication. Members of Facebook and MySpace become consumed in a "friending" frenzy- accepting friend requests from just about anyone and acquiring a friend list that unrealistically reaches into the hundreds.

Since the use of social networking sites have become such an integral part of our lives, are we spending more time formulating friendships in cyberspace than we are in the real world? Do friendships created and maintained through social networking sites have the same depth and offer the same fulfillment as friendships cultivated through person-to-person contact?

[Additional Photos: Facebook, 2009; Dave Walker, 2007]