3. What is a
friend
In our research we decided to take a
broad perspective on what is
considered to be a friend. From here,
we thought about different outlets of
where "friends" can come from. A few
of these outlets include:
Real life
Facbook
Twitter
Snapchat
Instagram
Online Dating
Texting
4. Different types
of friends
From who we talked to, we
realized a general theme of
different types of friends that
people have. We divided these
into 3 categories:
Real friends
Virtual friends
Acquantances
5. Real friend
A "real friend" is the type of friend that one would consider to
fit the dictionary definition of what a "friend" is. If you go to
Google and type in "define: friend" this definition pops up, "a
person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of
mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family
relations".
Generally this type of friend is someone who a person hangs
out with in real life and whom they spend quality time with. It
is the type of person who holds at least a few of the
characteristics that are considered to be qualities of a friend
(as seen in the second slide of this presentation).
6. Virtual friend
A virtual friend is someone who a person may encounter via the
virtual world. That is, via social media, texting, or anywhere on the
Internet. While some virtual friends can also be "real" friends,
others may only be acquaintances that one encounters over the
Web.
A main difference between virtual friends and real friends is that
virtual friends do not necessarily hold characteristics that are
considered to be qualities of a friend. In fact, many will become
virtual friends with people (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, etc.) but may
never actually talk to them or spend time with them in real life.
Although they may never actually hang out with one another,
they may exchange any form of likes, comments, or talking via
virtual outlets.
7. Acquaintance
An acquaintance is someone who a person may know about, or
have encounters with . An acquaintance differs from a friend in
that the encounters are generally meaningless to one's life, and
neither person may feel a sense of mutual affection.
As a person, an acquaintance may hold qualities of a true friend,
but those qualities may not be appreciated by the person who
labels them as an acquaintance. Although acquaintances are not
considered to be "real" friends, the virtual world enables people
to stay connected with their acquaintances, often for the purpose
of entertainment. This is why it is possible for someone to have,
for example, 1,000 friends on Facebook, but only 30 true friends
in real life.
8. Our research
We decided to focus on 3 different age groups for our
research to figure out what the changing concept of a
friend is. Those 3 groups include teens younger than us
(Generation Z), people around the age of college
students (Millenials) and people around the age of our
parents (Baby Boomers).
From here, we found the general idea of how the
concept of a friend has change.
9. Our main finding
Technology - including cell phones, the Internet and social media -
has changed the way people view the concept of a friend
11. How people become friends
Generation Z and Millenials
The general trends were that people meet other
at school, sporting events, through other people,
etc. then add one another on Facebook or
Instagram and then proceed to have a virtual
and/or real-life friendship
OR
Add someone on Facebook/Instagram as a
“friend” or “follower” and either follow up on a
real life friendship or stay content as merely
virtual acquaintances
12. How people become friends
Parents/Baby boomers
The general trend was becoming friends by meeting each
other first, then once comfortable they may add that person
on a form of social media
Generally, they thought that the use of Social Media and
texting are great ways to stay in touch with close friends, but
they most likely wouldn’t communicate with someone in
these forms without knowing them really well first
In some cases, they though tsocial media infringed upon the
formation of true friendships
13. How people treat real friends vs.
virtual friends
All 3 generations agreed that they don’t treat their
virtual friendships like their real-life friends
One explanation for this was that it is much easier to
maintain a meaningful relationship with physical contact
14. How people treat real friends vs.
virtual friends
Generation Z and Millennial’s generally have more
contact with and are more open with their lives to
virtual friends that they may not be as close with,
while parents/Baby Boomers tend to be somewhat
private on social media and only add those who are
their true friends - they use social media as a way
to stay connected with old friends
18. Cultural practices - medium of choice
All 3 generations said that they also enjoy keeping in
touch with their friends via cell phones - i.e. talking on the
phone or texting
Many people also said that they would prefer to interact
with their true, real life friends in real life vs. virtually
19. Qualities of friends
For the most part, generations agreed that online friends
have different qualities than real friends
20. Qualities of friends
Example 1: Someone may text a virtual friend when they are
bored, but they will seek out real life friends when they need
support with an issue in their life.
Example 2: Some people, such as those on the show Catfish,
seek support, entertainment and trust via people online -
often because they can’t find these same qualities in real-life
friends.
21. So, which is better - a virtual
friend or a real-life friend?
22. Is it truly possible to have 579 friends? Is
Facebook actually responsible for the
changing definition of the word friend?
Add a little bit of body text
25. There is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions.
The changing concept of a friend could mean something
totally different to two different people and has no objective
answer.
Use these questions while exploring the rest of our site.
Enjoy as we present to you more in depth about the
changing concept of a friend.
