“You’ve got to have friends” – Bette Middler

That wisdom from the 1972 song, Friends, is true. Biologically we are wired to connect. Friends are necessary to our lives because they enhance our lives, provide perspective, support, adventure and love.

We are taught at an early age the importance of friends and friendship. As kids, friends and friendships were easier to obtain because in most cases there is an innocence with who we chose to be our friend.

Friendship is defined as “a relationship of mutual affection between two or more people. Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an association.” (Wikipedia)

As we grow older our definition of friendship can be less defined with many people coming in and out of our lives based on work, the groups we identify with and with whom we do social actives. There acquaintance, casual (e.g. social friends), agentic (e.g. work friends, friends from teams or organizations), and true (e.g. best friends or close friends).

Online social networks blurs the lines of acquaintances and true friendship in a way that may be unhealthy and isolating. You may have 200 friends or more, but how deep or real are those friendships? We are loosing our ability to connect authentically and in person. It is sad, when I meet people who have not had the depth of discussion with their close friends that I have with my friends on a regular basis.

I came across an article the other day that speaks to the disconnect of the definition of friendship and the perception of friendship as the result of social media.

The article is from the New York Times called: Do Your Friends Actually Like You?

The New York Times won’t allow me to embed their article on my page, so you’ll have to go to the link to read the article. —> http://nyti.ms/2baMW6a

I am curious what you take away from it.

Love – Stephanie XO