Is a Social Media Friend Really a Friend?

September 17, 2008 - 4:31 pm PDT - by Mark Dykeman 5 Comments

Would you trust a social media friend with your money? Your home? Your significant other? Your children? Your life? Your answer to those questions will determine whether or not you feel that friends, as used in social media, are friends like you had in school or if they’re better labeled as something else.

The social media friend is the key ingredient that makes digital media social. Social media users have the ability to create a user profile which lists relevant information about them. The user can then select other users to be friends, followers, buddies, contacts, or some other relevant noun. Showing that you are a friend of another social media user indicates that there is some form of relationship between the two of you. The connection may be weak, but it’s important enough for you to tell the world about it.