I was reading a book today and there was a quote/comment about there being a time that the word "network" was not a verb. Now naturally that was before the popularity of places like MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo and the like, probably before everyone had cell phones as opposed to "land lines" and rendered the White Pages useless. Now, however "network" is a verb and damn near everyone has their own page, myself included. It's convenient no doubt; if anyone wanted to find me they certainly could, after all you can send a "friend request" to anyone but its the use of the word "friend" I take issue with. One, if you have 80 something "friends" on your list, what are the odds you talk to those people with any regularity? Which brings me to my second question: why the hell would you bother friend requesting someone you don't plan on ever conversing with? My definition of friend is not synonymous with "someone I used to know"- if they were my friend it wouldn't be "used to know", it'd be "I know them". Friend requesting doesn't imply true friendship any more than being a friend on a Yahoo Messenger list or being a watcher on DeviantART. "Social" networking is bullshit. People were not meant to be place holders, ego boosters or time killers.
Friend is definitely the wrong word for a lot of these relationships. Or maybe we need a new word to mean what friend used to mean.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel overwhelmed by all the new social interaction methods: facebook, twitter etc. I do not feel that I should invade other ppl's privacy or waste their time and energy by sending out pointless spam. I feel embarrassed - whatever I have to say should carry a meaning, some purpose. I wonder about people who just litter the virtual space with all that trash :S. I guess soon FB will come out with something like "real friends" category or smth. I do not want to insult anyone so I accept almost all but later, after a week or so, I delete them. I only keep my friends and close acquaintances. Otherwise I can no longer filter the info that I need to know. Too much info paralyzes the brain.
ReplyDeleteKarenD- we need a new word alright but none that I can suggest would be flattering. The term friend means as much as the term family.
ReplyDeleteLiisK- I agree 100%. I wish more people felt like you do. What one says SHOULD mean something, be original and not merely echoing what someone else has said. Thats why I rarely comment on others' blogs or artwork or whatever, not because I don't look or don't care.