tODAY NEITHER
ONE wOULD friend you on Facebook
Facebook has made an indelible mark on the concept of friendship. The average Facebook user has 42 friends,
and many people have upward of 500. Without Facebook many of us
millennial wouldn’t know what our friends are up to or what their babies or
boyfriends look like. We wouldn’t even remember their birthdays.
Aristotle wrote that friendship involves
a degree of love. If we were to ask ourselves whether all or our Facebook
friends were those we loved we’d certainly answer that they’re not. These days
we devote equal if not more time to tracking people we have very limited
human interaction with than to those whom we truly love. Aristotle called
the former friendships of utility, which are for the commercially
minded.
I’d venture to guess that at least
90% of Facebook friendships are those of utility. We
increasingly use Facebook as a vehicle for self-promotion rather than as a
means to stay connected to those whom we love; instead of sharing our lives we compare
and contrast them, based on carefully calculated posts, always striving to put
our best face forward.
Alexander said friendship can be based on pleasure. All of the well-wishes and likes we get
from our numerous face book friends may give us pleasure. but something feels
false about this. Those who love for the sake of pleasure do so for the sake of
what is pleasant to them and not as the other is the person loved. Few
of us expect the dozens of Facebook friends who wish us a happy birthday to ever share a birthday celebration let alone care for us when we’re sick
or in need.
tO BE CONTINUED...
DR.KARL WALLACE
D.D.S,
To read
more of my stories go to: karlwallaceblog.blogspot.com
