The researcher studied whether Facebook was changing society's definition of friendship. Through surveys of 85 people, the researcher found that Facebook users and non-users defined friendship similarly, emphasizing liking, loyalty, and trust. Face-to-face communication remained the primary mode of interaction. While Facebook is prevalent, it does not appear to be altering core concepts of what makes a friendship.

1. The Facebook Effect:
A New Type of Friendship
By Jessica Cox

2. Research Question and
Hypothesis:
✤ 1) Is Facebook changing society’s definition of friendship?
✤ 2) The hypothesis is that due to the lack of face to face
communication, Facebook users have a lower quality of friendship.

3. Methods and Tools
✤ I used a mixed method approach to my research using participant
observation and a survey.
✤ I opened my first Facebook account and became a regular user.
✤ I surveyed 85 men and women of all ages.

4. Results
✤ Do Facebook users have a different definition of friendship compared
to non Facebook users? No, every person I surveyed had the three
same key terms when defining a friendship. People who like each
other, are loyal, and could trust each other.
✤ Here are a few of my favorite definitions:
✤ “Friendship is caring about someone else’s wellbeing and knowing
that he/she cares about your’s. It is a social support system which
helps each of us to define who we are and our place in the world.”
✤ “A person that knows you and loves you anyways.”

5. Results
✤ My Hypothesis was not supported. When I asked everyone what
their main mode of communication was, face to face communication
had the majority with 46.4%.

6. Results
✤ Also, when asked how many friendships you had that were over 10
years old, Facebook users had an average of 9 or more where non
Facebook users had an average of 3-4.
✤ Facebook Users Non Facebook Users

7. Discussion
✤ Even though Facebook is the new social norm for our society, it is not
changing society’s definition of friendship.
✤ The next step is to see if Facebook is creating more people to view
society working in a Symbolic Interaction Perspective instead of the
other theoretical perspectives.
✤ Maybe, Facebook is the beginning of a new social institution, friends
and Facebook friends are seperated.