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As many have pointed out, the answer to the OP's question depends on your definition of "friend".
If your definition involves "someone who really cares about me and loves me and loses sleep over any concerns they have about my happiness and welfare" then no, FB relationships are not generally friends, particularly if you don't know them in real life.
Remember that "friends" and "friending" is simply terminology (brilliantly) concocted by FB's inventors. If you strip away all the BS, "friending" someone is simply getting them to accept you on a list of known people who are FB members. It is, inherently, nothing more than a contact list. Using loaded terminology like "friend" in place of "contact" turned it into a social reciprocity competition, which allows the leverage of guilt and anxiety to compel people to seek and accept (and be reluctant to undo) "friend requests" that otherwise wouldn't "matter".
The rise of social media (not just FB) has diluted the meaning and significance of what constitutes "friendship" or "relationships", emphasizing quantity over quality and depth of commitment. I daresay that many have no real experience of what friendship can be, and that is, to me, sad, given that even before social media, widespread feelings of alienation and isolation were already problematic.
I used to think of a friend as someone who would think I was remiss if my car broke down 20 miles outside of town 11:30 sunday night and I didn't call them first. The beauty of facebook is you could just post that you need assistance and some one who you only know causally might show up to help. I think facebook has created digital communities of people. Friends that you share the most friends with are your own community.
People I see regularly I don't have as FB friends. I stop and talk to them when I see them, talk on the phone or have mutual friends to pass on info to. I try to stay caught up with my actual friends. It’s the people who I know pretty well but never get a chance to see that are some of my best "FB" friends.
Years ago, a so-called "friend" told me that I "had" to get a FB page because "everyone was doing it"; this arrogant a-hole and I are no longer on speaking terms.
And, anyone out there who posts too much personal info. on FB is asking for trouble:
Some may have been friends at one time, but we have drifted apart. I get great pleasure out of posting fb rants and annoying people I once hung out with, but have no regard for anymore.
Heck I only really know only two or three people on my facebook but really do Facebook friends count as friends?
I'm not on Facebook but I'll use CD for example.....
The way I look at it is.... The people I talk to on here I think would I or wouldn't I like to meet them in real life and have a drink with?..... If so then yeah I'd class then as friends
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