Kate Dailey Friends With Benefits Analysis

In Kate Dailey 's article, “Friends with Benefits: Do Facebook Friends Provide the Same Support as Those in Real Life?” Dailey compares real life friends to friends who people acquire on social media. She makes the argument that social media serves as an amplification, but not an alternative, to a “real life” social life. Dailey took this topic into her own hands by conducting polls on her personal Facebook page to get the opinions of her so-called friends on whether Facebook friends show the same support as real life friends. From these polls, Dailey came to the conclusion that though Facebook did not create friends, it provided people with virtual acquaintances. I disagree with Dailey’s results; strong friendships and bonds can be created over social media. Some people lack the social skills needed to make friends with their next door neighbor or the person standing next to them in their local market. “Facebook may not replace the full benefits of real friendship, but it definitely beats the alternative” (Dailey 144). For these people, Facebook is the perfect venue to get to know someone that they

Facebook provides its users with the ability to keep in touch with friends who have moved across the country or friends who are too busy with their lives and fail to come around anymore. In Aaron Smith 's article, “Why Americans Use Social Media,” he says, “Roughly seven in ten users under the age of fifty say that staying in touch with current friends is a major reason they use online social platforms, and just over half say that reconnecting with old friends is equally important.” Facebook is key for people to keep in touch with their once close friends who are now only virtual friends due to various circumstances. Due to their prior friendship, these people know how to help provide support to one another through the rough times in their lives. These virtual friends still have the ability to provide a support network that can be crucial when getting through a