Social Networking Transformations of Friendship - Essay Example

A Liquid Life and Social Networking Transform What Friendship Means. Introduction Friendship besides lackingsurvival value, it is among the things, which add value to human survival. Many people globally have made friends electronically both abroad and internal. This has been possible through the social media sites such as the twitter, 2go, Yahoo, Gmail, Facebook, and twoo among many others. These friends, shares social life experiences on internet, carry out business transactions online, as well as improving communication in the community. So many friends of ours sometimes are hurting in the things they do to us. For that reason, two may show up to be the best friend in public but in reality, the two privately detests each other (Giddens, and Griffiths, 2006: 143). Sometimes a show of unity, friendship and teamwork does not in reality, symbolize that the involved are actually friend. This paper will represent a dialogue in the form of a script, between two theorists, Michael Foucault, and Anthony Giddens. The dialogue will actually, be based on the theorists’ theoretical views on friendship. Anthony Giddens: In fact, friendship between people rewards many individuals, but to others, who lose it take it as punishment. It is a fact that, many people repeatedly find agreement with views of their own to be really rewarding. Michael Foucault: Yeah…! Anthony Giddens: This reward indeed, favors sentiments between rewarders, and the rewarded (Giddens, and Turner, 1987: 72). Withdrawal of friendship is the first punishment to group members who violate their norms. In addition, people especially the scholars should actually recognize the common sense to be frequently a psychologically ethical behavior although many implications of psychologically behavior normally go beyond common sense. Nancy Chodorow: Giddens you are right! I am worried that nowadays people have confused almost the understanding of every term. Looking at friendship, to me it is a general word that is used to express love among two or more individuals but many have a negative take on it (Grabher, 1992: 91). . Michael Foucault: In fact, you are all right. Let I first give you a definition of friendship. Friendship refers to an act of representing ample forms of prevailing interpersonal relationships. This definition really overstates the voluntariness in it (Descharmes, et al, 2011: 357). This view emphasizes that friendship associations substitute kinship ties in societies of the Euro-American among older adults because it is, adopted partly in accounts of sociology. Anthony Giddens: Very true Mr. Michael! Nancy Chodorow: True. Michael Foucault: Arguably, personal freedom of selecting relationships and friendship is imperfect than not as it appears. This is because in social setting, friendship relations developments trails rules and is affected by the relationships that are broader, like the ones established on the age and gender, that drives above the individual levels. Anthony Giddens: It is also good to know that rituals are very important in structuring of a relationship because they are the results of categorizing and routinization. Nancy Chodorow: If I might ask, what do mean by categorization, Giddens? Anthony Giddens: Categorization is the process of structuring that emerges out of negotiations of people over how typifying one another and their relationships (Giddens, and Turner, 1987: 182). Grouping each other process and relation facilitation by each other promotes treatment of people to others with non-persons attitude. Michael Foucault: Right. Nancy Chodorow: Yeah…! Anthony Giddens: In addition, categorization or grouping helps people in avoidance of time and energy occupied in finely tuned and sensitive signaling and interpreting. This leads to a smooth proceeding of their interactions across time and space without re-discussing who should be where. Michael Foucault: Distinguishingly, it is good to add that friendship is a social relationship of mutual appreciation and relative durability that comprise of communal moral standards, reciprocity expectations and trust, which is sustainable by equity, support, mutual affection, and common ideas of equality (Descharmes, et al, 2011: 357). However, friendship has diverse definitions that comprise of both functional and emotional aspects, which differ in weight and degree in accordance to situations. Anthony Giddens: mmmmmh! Michael Foucault: For that reason, we can conclude that, relationship needs to be permanently affirmed. Dynamic relationships normally grow into group or polyadic from just the normal friendship. Friendship differs from kinship in that, when friendships become persisted they are more dependent to the social conduct compared to kinship ties. Nancy Chodorow: Good words Mr. Michael. I feel it is good to add that friendship as the people take has no gender limit. Anybody, either male or female, is free to befriend anybody else of, or of opposite gender. Anthony Giddens: Contemporary vibrant relationship is characterized by having a pure relationship that is actually based on the personal ties transactional negotiations by equals (Ritzer, 2005: 417). In explanation of this, it is good to note that relationship is a subject of invariable reflection, and wherein it becomes necessary to discussing the matters concerning personal benefit in maintaining intimacy, it creates a demand that is lasting. Michael Foucault: Yeah. Nancy Chodorow: And what of the personal relationship, Mr. Giddens? Anthony Giddens: The personal relationships are, affected by the reported rise in contemporary intimacy at a wide range. The specific parts of the social life affected by the rise in intimacy are marriage, sexual relationship, and friendship. In additions, it is good to understand that clean relationship is not confined to heterosexual partners. This is mostly because the role of gender is not applied in pure relationship as they fall in contradiction to collaborate equality required. Michael Foucault: Friends emerges once homosexual category of sexology is overcome (Michael, 2012: 10). Friends in addition are secret keepers. In human life, secrets ought to circulate essentially, given power by the exposure potential without which it turns nothing. Understanding the power of the secrets has become a strategy for working past constricting biopolitical rationality limits, as modernity sexuality has been obliquely built as secret. Moreover, the friendship who concerns one pushing each other beyond the historically determined identities and again helping another think and relate differently does not reflect a true friendship, but a betrayal (Michael, 2012: 9). This kind of a friend is therefore, referred to as a betrayer. Anthony Giddens: I want to relate love to friendship. As we know, love has a history. Friendship on the other hand, has a history too (Jeanrond, 2010: 206). Taking an example of the western culture, true friendship was really, seen as men’s domain, and women were never, acknowledged publicly to be equal in friendship besides friendship among women having been existing. As described by Lewis in his book “The Four Loves”, friendship is unnecessary. Lewis says that beside friendship giving value of survival, it is unnecessary. Nancy Chodorow: Yeah…! Anthony Giddens: In support of this, it is observable that many friendships last after a short while. This is mainly caused by noticed undesirable behavior in one of the parties in friendship. In addition, people die on daily basis. Those who loose lives are actually best friends to many persons left alive. When some die, and others remain alive, a number of friendships that really existed between the dead and the alive is, terminated. This is therefore; an evident that friendship is not something that can be valued in ones survival. Michael Foucault: Ok, I can remember some time back, when I was twenty. What I all valued was relationship, because I always wanted a company for pleasure. I always wanted to be in a group of boys and girls. I mean it has all been important for me just for existence. I remember my boyfriends. All what they valued was to live together, sharing meals, spending time together, sharing leisure, grief, confidences, and knowledge. However, right now, no one even seems to have pleasure! This is an indication that pleasure and friendships are dependent on the age a person has. We really try to explain friendship as a way of life, (Gutting, 2006: 400). I can therefore, support your statement that beside friendship giving value of survival, it is unnecessary. In fact, this bears a truth in it because I have found pleasure and friendship to be just a milestone. Friendship is very common with youths. As they grow old, the lust for pleasure and friendship fades slowly. Nancy Chodorow: I have also witnessed that truth Mr. Michael. Friendship is very common and hot at early stages of many youths. Anthony Giddens: As I had discussed earlier, friendship rewards many individuals. Remember I had also said that to others, who lose it take it as punishment. It is unfortunate that even those who loose friends through death actually feel punished (Giddens, and Turner, 1987: 72). I have no doubt in saying this because many people repeatedly find agreement with views of their own to be really rewarding, a reward that favors sentiments between rewarders. On the other side, the rewarded Withdrawal of friendship is the first punishment to group members who lose their friend by death. Michael Foucault: In fact, what you have just said is true, that a friendship can be a lifestyle. Beside the normally known friendship, marriage can also be a lifestyle. The reason why I am saying that is that friendship and marriage are both made internally cohesive. This has been achieved through a distinct form of chosen behavior transversely time-space. When we are talking of lifestyles, we are really taking about what somebody certainly does in a given span of time, which in other words we call it activity regionalization. Nobody in this world can actually claim the he or she does not have a life style at all! This means everybody has a friendship, no matter what kind of friendship it is and where it exists in terms of region. It might be a friend from overseas. The introduction of social media has really helped billions of people make friendships globally. The social media we are talking about here is the twitter, facebook, Google mail, yahoo mail, 2go, among many others. Nancy Chodorow: Michael, do not forget of dating cites. Many children has joined these dating cites and surely, I believe they aren’t doing all good at all. Anthony Giddens: I discovered that many people specifically youths are the victims of pleasure and lust of making friendships. Even before the introduction of the social media and internet, peers lived in groups based on personal consideration on group formations. Their communication was also distinct in that they used to write letters to seek friendship from opposite sex. This exercise was indeed, very secret in a way that those peers who did not belong to the group could hardly realize. In fact, every activity is seasonal because today, you cannot find any youth writing a letter. This era of letter writing has ceased after the introduction of mobile phones, where they can chart through voice calls or even through text messages. Internet has also contributed to a rapid communication evolution where many youths switched to computerized communication through online charts, video callings, and even electronic mail transfer. Michael Foucault: I wholly concur with you Mr. Giddens. Nancy Chodorow: I agree with you Giddens. Michael Foucault: I have also been picturing how social media has misled young people. The levels of misbehavior has increased abruptly due to the fact the billions of youths across the globe have access to the said social sites. I have discovered that besides communication, which is a network of friends on internet, the users have access to videos, which are actually unethical for young viewers. A good example of these videos is the phonographic films. I want you to imagine of what a young youth at adolescent will behave or react after watching a pornographic film. The technology has failed in restricting the said porn cites from under eighteen watchers. Purposely, these films are made for adult men and women, and more probably, couples. Anthony Giddens: That is true, Mr. Michael. Michael Foucault: In addition, I have looked at how the young children are behaving. It is very sad, Mr. Giddens, to watch younger children misbehave. My first question will probably be, why is this child, very young, doing thing beyond his or her age? Nancy Chodorow: It is also very important to note that, many of these kids do whatever they do because of peer influence. Anthony Giddens: This is an indication that the exposure of children to these dangerous cites have made them behave in an undesirable manner. Only leisure, pleasure, and friendship has made youths know of the said dangerous sites. Now Mr. Michael, I pity these youths who are being spoiled, and wonder how they can be helped so long as computers cannot be swept away from the community. Doing that, will mean doing away with the expected growth in technology. Michael Foucault: Mr. Giddens, defining the problem at first eases the process of solution finding. To address effects of relationship at first, it is good to note that relationship interferes with children’s morals and behavior in a given community, across the continents. Currently, millions of people not only the youths boast for having established foreign relationships. Others on hearing, they develop an attitude of wanting to too have theirs abroad. In fact, this has led to deterioration of human behavior globally. Anthony Giddens: I understand that very well Mr. Michael. That is why many children are seen walking on streets with mobile phones. Am sure you will get some very funny answer when you attempt to ask them what the purpose of owning phones was just charting and communication with friends! Am sure many children have dropped in their class performances due to engagements in early friendships, which I may term as unethical relationship. Michael Foucault: And these children are very innocent! Nancy Chodorow: Innocent yeah.. Anthony Giddens: Yeah! In fact, if it were to blame, all sorts of blame could wholly go to their parents, for not keeping everything in good monitoring and control. It is very shocking to realize that even the parents do not know when their children own mobile phones, which they normally operate under blankets. Yeah, it is very shocking. In addition, friendships at this age affect a high number of learners indeed. You will find that these children spend most of their time on these electronic devices, just charting with friends. Michael Foucault: Very shocking! This time wasted could actually, be used while doing assignments and other beneficial school based tasks. What will then make them excel if they do not get to books well? I have also realized that even the adults who have many friends normally face many challenges indeed. Many friendships that exist in the current generation are unethical. Why do I say this? You will find that a high number of relationships are sexually oriented. This is arguable that many are at risks of getting the sexually transmitted diseases. Nancy Chodorow: I think many still end up falling victims of drugs abuse. Anthony Giddens: That is true. It is evident that above sixty-five percent of the world, population is, infected with HIV and AIDS, and billion cases of Sexual Transmitted Infections have been, diagnosed. So now, an unethical friendship that has existed has actually posted a great risk to acquisition of diseases like HIV and AIDS, and more the STI’s. Many have blamed the social media and internet at large because it has exposed everybody, regardless of their age, to some of the internet sites, which are very dangerous to the behavioral attributes of somebody. Michael Foucault: Yeah. Again, the morals of the community have experienced a great deterioration due to the above exposure to certain web sites, which represent a bad picture to the community and the society, at large. All what the young boys and girls are thinking is all about internet chart. This according to me turn them lazy hence, poor performance in the class. Most of all, friendship and modernity consumes a lot of time and space (Giddens, 1990: 17). Anthony Giddens: Yeah…! Michael Foucault: Many people will ever want to look and stay modern. One of the main ways used by people today to look modern is by the ability to launch and browse the internet pages. Here at the website pages is where one will meet strange things and hence, will end up changing their morals and behaviors. Talking in terms of time, as we have said above, many people spend a lot of their time on internet other than in beneficial tasks, for personal development and build-up. Nancy Chodorow: Very true indeed! Anthony Giddens: In fact, millions of people have a feeling that, friendship is all what they do on the internet social media, like charting with friends among others. Staying a changing life has also, been considered by many people across the world as a real and pure friendship. That is, finding total satisfaction elsewhere after a relationship or friendship breakup. Conclusion. In conclusion, friendship rewards many individuals. Remember I had also said that to others, who lose it take it as punishment. It is unfortunate that even those who loose friends through death actually feel punished (Giddens, and Turner, 1987: 72). As seen in the dialogue above, friendship has many undesirable effects to the entire community. In the minds of many, thoughts of friendship and technology rein. Making anybody who believes in nothing negative concerning the relationship and technology change translates a negative take by the people who have developed a kind of addiction ambit. In my own words, I can therefore, conclude that a liquid life and social networking transform what friendship means, to the minds of many. Many friendships have broken up among many people. The cause of the breakdown is analyzed to being caused by the noticed undesirable characteristics or behaviors with some of the friends. The consequences to un-friend somebody is again undesirable. A feeling of punishment occurs, while settling to start a new search for friend with the desirable characteristics of your choice becomes hard at the same time. It is therefore, good to maintain very friend we have. Instead of breaking the friendship, correction measures are best. Bibliography Descharmes, B., et al. 2011. Varieties of Friendship: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Social Relationships. Go?Ttingen, V&R Unipress. Elliott, A. 2008. Concepts of the Self. Cambridge, UK, Polity. Giddens, A. 1990. The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford, Leland Stanford Junior University Press. Giddens, A. 1991. Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Stanford, Calif, Stanford University Press. Giddens, A., & Griffiths, S. 2006. Sociology. Cambridge, UK [U.A.], Polity Press. Giddens, A., & Turner, J. H. 1987. Social Theory Today. Stanford, Calif, Stanford University Press Grabher, G. M. 1992. Women in Search of Literary Space. Tu?Bingen, Narr. Gutting, G. (2006). The Cambridge Companion to Foucault. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Jeanrond, W. G. 2010. A Theology of Love. London, T & T Clark. Michael F. 2012. Friendship as a Way of Life - SUNY Press pdf, retrieved on 4 May 2013 from: http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/62305.pdf Ritzer, G. 2005. Encyclopedia of Social Theory. Thousand Oaks, Ca [Etc.], Sage. Read More