Week 2: Relationships and Lables

In the article The Quagmire of Social Media Friendships written by Curtis Silver, he goes into the idea of friendship and the meaningful relationships people have with their friends online versus in person. The idea of meeting people, networking and relationships building over social media. Silver goes into the idea that we can only keep up with having 150 social relationships, however what I take away from this is that we can only have 150 friends at one time.



He also talked about how once people move away you are no longer friends with them anymore. I strongly disagree with that. I have moved seven different times and I have friends that live all over. Some of my childhood friends are my best friends. Having social media has helped me keep the long distance friends, and seeing their pictures or posts reminds me to call them. Now, I am not saying I keep my good friendships because of social media, I do that by taking the time to call or go visit them. I took this picture from an article that talked about how much the cast of "Boy Meets World" has still stayed close friends. The relationships you make as a child will not stop growing as long as you continue to build them.



Silver discusses the label "friends" on Facebook. He believes that people are building weak, if not any, relationships online. I understand where he is coming from but I also think he is wrong. People think you can just keep a true friendship by "liking" someone's picture or "retweeting" something. He has quoted his friends throughout the article by using their tweets and other posts. I found it interesting when he stated that the "friends" he quoted were his real friends. Just by following someone does not make you friends, I am following Taylor Swift but I would never say I am friends with her. Similarly on Vine you can only follow, like or comment on the post. This gives no chance to build a personal connection, this is what Silver is saying in this article.

However I can disagree with Silver when it come to social media sites like E-Harmony or Match.com. This ad shows you how a user can meet the person just right for them. The idea of meeting online then getting to know someone, this is becoming mainstream.


Dating websites have become the new way for couples to meet and it often leads to marriage. Users answer a lot personal questions then are matched by their results. The two will chat online for a little then build a connection. After that they will meet face to face, for a date. The couple builds a relationship online and then goes into building a stronger connection by dating.



Photo 1:https://www.facebook.com/
Photo 2:https://www.pinterest.com/pin/370210031839876317/
Photo 3:http://www.eharmony.com/