HENDERSON: MySpace 'friendships' lack time and energy
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Strangely, after two or so months of using MySpace, I have just discontinued my account.
Why you ask? Well, I suppose it boils down to what friendship means to me. Before MySpace, I had conceptions of friends. I could call them, talk, hang up and feel like I had a connection beyond the phone line. In a sense, it required genuine time and energy that could only deepen my appreciation for that person; it nourished and fulfilled the bond we share.
In June, I joined MySpace. Excitedly, I became reacquainted with old friends and felt great.
It was addictive. I would type my password, wait a second and discover a new message or comment. How satisfying to know someone cared to write a cynical, sarcastic or "how are you" comment on MY space. Over time, it became a part of my daily routine to interact with my list of friends.
As time progressed, however, I started to think more deeply about this new sense of awe and excitement. I started to think about "friendship" and what it meant. For me, investing both time and emotion in someone and them investing in me is something I value in a friendship.
With MySpace, I realized how easy it became to have and maintain "friends" in my life. I started to feel dissatisfied by the ease and convenience of it all. To my utter dismay and shock, I discovered my reliance on technology, manifested in MySpace and reduced my friends to comments, messages and pictures on a computer screen.
Entire human beings, full of complexities, nuances, beliefs, etc. being reduced to quick little remarks just so that the other person knows that the other still exists. The superficial emptiness clouded the excitement I had once felt.
The consequences are very subtle but significant. In a society in which technology, convenience and consumerism motivate our conceptions of how to operate efficiently, it seems we have lost to some degree that special depth that true friendships entail.
Has the word "friend" been transplanted to mean "acquaintance"? Have we become nothing more than advertisements on a screen? Is it really possible to feel a deep connection with someone when it is so easy? In a sense, has apathy crept into our relationships, reasoning that doing as little as possible means maintaining a connection with someone?
In the end, are more significant aspects of society being sacrificed?
Does MySpace influence our patterns of thought, as well as how we even speak to one another?
Does MySpace negatively impact our ability to hold deep conversations? In general, is it really strengthening our friendships? I'm not so sure.
Put simply, has friendship become too easy?
Gabe Henderson is a graduate student in history from Oberlin, Ohio.
Why you ask? Well, I suppose it boils down to what friendship means to me. Before MySpace, I had conceptions of friends. I could call them, talk, hang up and feel like I had a connection beyond the phone line. In a sense, it required genuine time and energy that could only deepen my appreciation for that person; it nourished and fulfilled the bond we share.
In June, I joined MySpace. Excitedly, I became reacquainted with old friends and felt great.
It was addictive. I would type my password, wait a second and discover a new message or comment. How satisfying to know someone cared to write a cynical, sarcastic or "how are you" comment on MY space. Over time, it became a part of my daily routine to interact with my list of friends.
As time progressed, however, I started to think more deeply about this new sense of awe and excitement. I started to think about "friendship" and what it meant. For me, investing both time and emotion in someone and them investing in me is something I value in a friendship.
With MySpace, I realized how easy it became to have and maintain "friends" in my life. I started to feel dissatisfied by the ease and convenience of it all. To my utter dismay and shock, I discovered my reliance on technology, manifested in MySpace and reduced my friends to comments, messages and pictures on a computer screen.
Entire human beings, full of complexities, nuances, beliefs, etc. being reduced to quick little remarks just so that the other person knows that the other still exists. The superficial emptiness clouded the excitement I had once felt.
The consequences are very subtle but significant. In a society in which technology, convenience and consumerism motivate our conceptions of how to operate efficiently, it seems we have lost to some degree that special depth that true friendships entail.
Has the word "friend" been transplanted to mean "acquaintance"? Have we become nothing more than advertisements on a screen? Is it really possible to feel a deep connection with someone when it is so easy? In a sense, has apathy crept into our relationships, reasoning that doing as little as possible means maintaining a connection with someone?
In the end, are more significant aspects of society being sacrificed?
Does MySpace influence our patterns of thought, as well as how we even speak to one another?
Does MySpace negatively impact our ability to hold deep conversations? In general, is it really strengthening our friendships? I'm not so sure.
Put simply, has friendship become too easy?
Gabe Henderson is a graduate student in history from Oberlin, Ohio.
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