FRIENDSHIP  BY:  SEAN  TRAVIS  

Technology  plays  a  role  in  friendships  by  :      •  Establishing    •  Reinforcing  •  Complica>ng  •  Damaging    

TYPES  OF  EVERYDAY  PEER  NEGOTIATIONS  

•  MAKING  FRIENDS  

•  PERFORMING  FRIENDSHIPS  

 •  ARTICULATING  FRIENDSHIP  HIERARCHIES    

•   STATUS,  ATTENTION,  AND  DRAMA  

 MYSPACE  -­‐  FACEBOOK  

WAYS  HOW  EVERYDAY  PEER  NEGOTIATIONS  OCCUR  

MAKING  FRIENDS  “TEENS  MAY  SELECT  THEIR  FRIENDS,  BUT  THEIR  CHOICE  IS  CONFIGURED  BY  THE  

SOCIAL,  CULTURAL,  AND  ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS  AROUND  THEM.”  •  Most  teens  use  social  media  to  

socialize  with  people  they  already  know  while  a  small  %  of  others  use  social  media  to  meet  knew  people.    

•  Facebook  or  MySpace  is  an  easy  way  to  do  so.  

•  “Hanging  out”  occurs  within  this  social  media  

•  Should  teens  venture  out  to  meet  new  teens  online  or  is  that  too  dangerous  for  “Stranger  Danger?”  

MAKING  FRIENDS                CONT.  

•  Personally,  I  find  random  friend  requests  strange  and  creepy.  I  believe  in  mee>ng  new  people  but  online  is  not  the  way  to  do  so,  I  believe  in  “Stranger  Danger.”  Don’t  feel  judged,  be  yourself!!!  

•  Perhaps  some  people  are  too  shy  or  too  nervous  to  make  friends  in  the  class  room  or  face  to  face,  therefore  they  strive  to  make  online  friends  where  they  are  more  comfortable.  

PERFORMING  FRIENDSHIPS  “Friends  in  the  context  of  social  media  are  not  necessarily  the  same  as  friends  in  

everyday  sense.”  

•  Facebook,  AIM  and  MySpace  play  a  big  role  in  this  concept  of  friends.  

•  Facebook-­‐how  many  friends  you  have.  AIM-­‐Your  “buddy”  list.  MySpace-­‐Friends  that  follow  your  page  and  who  you  follow.  

•  Teens  must  determine  their  boundaries  concerning  whom  they  accept  and  whom  they  reject  as  friends.  Do  you  accept  random  people  or  do  you  keep  social  media  to  close  friends  and  family?  

PERFORMING  FRIENDS  CONT.  •  By  choosing  who  you  allow  to  

become  “Friends”  with,  you  run  the  risk  of  offending  people.  

•  A  girl  named  Jennifer  from  Kansas  accepts  everyone  as  her  friend  because  “She’d  feel  bad  if  she  didn’t.”    

•  Penelope  from  Nebraska  says  “dele>ng  a  friend  is  rude…unless  they’re  weird.”  

•  By  declining  or  dele>ng  a  friend  they  person  asking  might  feel  lea  out  or  not  “cool”  but  you  as  a  person  need  to  protect  your  privacy.    

               •  It  really  is  a  personal  decision  on  

who  you  allow  to  see  your  profile.  Just  remember,  anyone  can  friend  request  anyone  and  the  internet  is  worldwide.  Think  what  is  best  for  yourself.  

 

FRIENDSHIP  HIERARCHIES  “A  friend  connec>on  alone  says  nothing  about  its  strength.”  

•  I  found  this  interes>ng  because  I  can  see  how  easily  it  can  create  controversy  and  stress  between  friends.    

•  Par>cularly  with  MySpace  you  have  your  “top  friends”  or  your  “top  8.”  the  site  makes  you  choose  who  your  “bestest”  friends  are  and  displays  it  for  everyone  to  see.    

•  “Top  friends  surfaces  insecuri>es  by  forcing  teens  to  face  where  they  stand  in  the  eyes  of  those  around  them.”    

•  For  example,  your  “BFF”  didn’t  get  the  number  one  spot  on  your  list,  so  he/she  picks  a  fight  with  you  because  of  that.  

FRIENDSHIP  HIERARCHIES  CONT.  •  Many  teens  think  that  if  your  

number  one  on  a  friends  list,  then  they  should  be  number  one  on  your  list.    

•  Jordan  from  Texas  says,  “Oh,  its  so  stressful  because  is  your  in  someone  else’s  top  friends,  then  you  feel  bad  if  they’re  not  in  yours.”  

•  This  creates  stress  for  young  teens  and  possibly  friendship  breakups.  I  think  the  top  friends  list  should  be  eliminated  all  together.  

Status  Aden>on  and  Drama  •  “Teens  use  social  media  to  

develop  and  maintain  friendships,  but  they  also  use  them  to  seek  aden>on  and  generate  drama.”  

•  Most  teens  seeking  to  spread  rumors  or  create  drama  usually  use  social  media.  

•  GOSSIP,  GOSSIP,  GOSSIP!!!  •  Gossip  occurs  everywhere  and  

with  technology  today,  it  can  get  spread,  shown  or  talked  about  very  easily  and  quickly  now.    

•  AIM,  Facebook  and  MySpace  all  are  used  for  gossip.    

•  AIM-­‐  People  can  talk  to  each  other  in  complete  conversa>on  

•  Facebook-­‐  People  can  post  status’  and  post  informa>on  that  pops  up  on  newsfeeds  and  “chat”  as  well.  

•  MySpace-­‐People  can  post  all  sorts  of  things  on  your  own  page  or  other  peoples  pages  as  well.  

•  Rumors  or  everyday  talk  can  go  viral  in  an  instant  which  can  lead  to  aden>on  seekers,  bullying,  harassing,  or  even  depression.  

STATUS,  ATTENTION  AND  DRAMA  CONT.  

•  “Teens  want  to  be  validated  by  their  broader  peer  group  and  thus  try  to  present  themselves  as  cool,  online  and  offline.”  

•  When  teens  are  harassed  online,  it  is  oaen  by  people  they  know  offline.  •  Gossip,  drama,  bullying  and  posing  are  unavoidable  side  affects  of  teens  

everyday  nego>a>ons  over  friendship  and  peer  status.    •  We  have  all  been  through  our  teens.  I  think  everyone  has  bullied  or  been  

bullied.  We  know  what  it  is  like  to  want  aden>on  and  to  honestly  get  jealous.  It  is  called  being  a  teen.  Now  that  we  are  all  older  and  wiser  we  should  help  the  cause  of  these  teenage  reputa>ons.  

REFERENCES…  •  Allan  1998  •  Lenhart  and  Madden  2007;  Subrahmanyam  and  Greenfield  2008  •  Corsaro  1997,  164  •  Boyd  2006  •  Boyd  2008  •  Thompson,  Grace,  and  Cohen  2001,  62  •  Milner  2004  

THANK  YOU  FOR  READING