NPR is talking about social networking right now. They brought up a good point about merely ‘collecting’ friends vs. ‘cultivating friendship.’ This hits my own struggle with social networking and how to keep up with so many people. I go back and forth between the pros and cons.
One aspect of much social networking is the way in which it can have the tendancy to promote self-promotion. One of the guests was Christine Rosen who wrote this article Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism. I don’t have time to read it now but if you do let me know what you think. I think the title itself is telling.
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Just finished reading Rosen’s article. If you’re crunched for time, I suggest skimming the first part and hitting on the last third, beginning with “A New Taxonomy for Friendship.” I think this will cover the main ideas you’re thinking about, though the first bits are full of some interesting history and overviews about social networking sites.
I’ve struggled with what I do with my own Facebook account. Before I signed up I made a point of finding out how easy (or not) it was to simply delete it. (My job is very much in the public sphere!) And then I promised myself I’d make a point of actually ‘talking’ to the people I meet. I’ve so far ignored about 15 friend requests.. (if I never spoke to you much in high school, I’m not feeling very inclined to now!) and I’m still working on catching up with those who I have seen in ages. And when it comes to actually ‘cultivating friendships’, well, that takes a lot of time…
Posted 08 Oct 2007 at 2:23 am ¶Post a Comment