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Loading...Are Online Friends ‘Real’ Friends?
- Ann Pietrangelo
- January 10, 2011
- 1:03 pm
- 116 comments
If you posted a suicide note to your friends on an online social networking site, would anyone reach out to help? Are online friends “real” friends?
“Took all my pills be dead soon bye bye everyone.”
That was the final posting of a 42 year-old woman in England who committed suicide. Sadly, the message to her 1,048 Facebook friends went largely ignored, according to an article in USA Today.
Did she have family or friends that she could call directly? Neighbors or co-workers? Was her whole world of connections contained online? Even if some of her Facebook friends were true friends who may have reached out to her, they may have simply missed the posting.
This and other similar incidents are sparking debate about the responsibilities of the social networking sites themselves as well as the dangers of online friendships.
The Ambiguity of Social Networking
Some online networking sites have reporting systems in place so that police can be notified in emergencies. For users, though, knowing someone is in trouble is not always easy.
Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or any other only social networking site, a large number of our friends or connections may be offline when we update our status. Many will never read our latest note. Even when online, if you’ve got hundreds or thousands of friends, you’re going to miss a few things. For some users, social networking is a narcissistic one-way street. We’ve all got connections who only post but never invest time in what other people have to say.
I’m often confused by the status updates of some of my younger Facebook friends. They use language I don’t always understand and they like to post popular song lyrics as their status — it’s their way of letting the world know they are enjoying a particular song. It is entirely possible that someday I will mistake a cry for help as a song lyric.
The trouble with brief online status updates is the true meaning is often lost in the clutter. Was a message meant seriously, humorously, or sarcastically? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
Next: Are Online Friendships Real Friendships?
Read more: Do Good, Family, Friendship, Health, Mental Wellness, News & Issues, Facebook, friends, friendship, online networking, social netowrking, suicide, Twitter
Ann Pietrangelo
Ann Pietrangelo is the author of No More Secs! Living, Laughing & Loving Despite Multiple Sclerosis. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and a regular contributor to Care2 Healthy & Green Living and Care2 Causes. Follow on Twitter @AnnPietrangelo
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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116 comments
+ add your ownPressing add doesn't mean they are there to help.
The word "friend" as used on social networks is hazardously confusing. One person with self-censored informations in his profile asks other one with self-censored informations in his profile to be friends? It's ludicrous... and regrettably dangerous, as shown in the article.
Thanks for the article.
Kinda sad also the rude comments people sometimes write on someone fb page after they commit suicide mocking them for killing themselves and being "an hero".
Facebook is funny, people you never expect send you friend requests, sometimes it is hard to take FB seriously.
It depends on how good the conection is between those people.
It depends on how good the conection is between those people.
That is really sad. I really don't know what else to say.
weird that you would consider someone you never met to be a friend, no wonder people are so lonely
Very few people are true friends in REAL life what makes you think it is any different on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
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