The Friend Thing

I have very few friends. Most of the time, I don’t think that even approaches something I would define as a problem. Sure, as a globally-mobile-kinda-guy, my melancholy moments are coloured by “missing” my friends (or wondering if I will ever again live on the same continent as some of them). Still, friendship is the exception for me, rather than the rule, when it comes to human relationships.

So, when articles like Marci Albohler’s “When Everyone’s a “Friend,” What’s a Friend?” hit my inbox, I tend to take notice. I don’t like the way sites like Facebook play with the term “friend.” Albohler piece is worth reading, both for the analogy between social networking and the multiple functions of a cafe, as well as for this timely piece of analysis,

“…we are living in a moment when all our tools of connection can both deepen our relationships and cheapen them.”

[tags] Social Networking, Friend, Friendship [/tags]