English 101
October 14, 2013
Social Media Websites and Friends In the past several years, the world has seen incredible advances in technology. Internet has become lightning fast, readily available, and cheaper. Devices for internet use have improved and new ones born, such as Smartphones and tablets. More impressively, the birth of social media websites like, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, have changed the way one uses the Internet and said devices. Through these social media websites, one can easily stay connected with individuals as well as meet new ones which have positive and negative effects for users of these websites. To begin, many of these connections with different individuals on social media websites are labeled as “friends.” However, are they truly friends? According to Merriam-Webster, a friend is defined as, “a favored companion whom one is attached to through affection that is benevolent and can be of the same nation, party, and/or group” (“Friend”). It further states that a friend may be an “acquaintance” or “someone whom shares the same allegiance to something like a charity” (“Friend”). By this definition, the users and their connections are indeed friends. Many of the connections are relatives, current and past friends, and/or co-workers. The second portion are typically general acquaintances one has met in class, work, or in passing. The third group may be described as friends one has never met but connected with due to a common interest such as, music, political party or sports just to name a few Now that we have established these virtual connections are indeed friends, one must wonder how fulfilling these friends and social media websites truly are to the user. For some users they may feel lonelier, even burdened by these social media websites, similar to how Harrison Bergeron felt burdened by his handicaps of thick wavy glasses, headphones, and scrap metal weights (Vonnegut 1). These users may feel their lives are not nearly exciting or eventful in comparison to their friends’ lives on these websites. They may even feel left out. A second group of users are complacent or ambivalent to how these friend connections affect them. This complacency is much like the complacentness George displays toward his handicap bag in “Harrison George,” “George weighed the bag with his hands. ‘I don’t mind it, ‘he said. ‘I don’t notice it anymore. It’s a part of me.’ “(Vonnegut 1). A third group of users of social media websites feel popular and fulfilled by their friend connections. To them, these websites are their “oyster” and they love it. They enjoy sharing their thoughts, interests, and pictures with other users. Even though these users love these websites, it could result in spending too much time online, possibly affecting one’s job or real social life. Despite possible negative effects of social media websites, such as loneliness or overuse, there are benefits to social media websites and their friends. Through