Summary Of Faux Friendship By William Deresiewicz

In “Faux Friendship”, William Deresiewicz talks about how friendship has evolved over the decades. Facebook has changed the world allowing people to interact with each other no matter where they are. It has strengthened friendships that normally would deteriorate and has also kept a lot of long distance relationships afloat. Although it seems like Facebook has brought people together and formed a lot of great friendships, it also has its negatives. Facebook has caused people to lose some friendships and forget how to interact with others face-to-face. What isn’t really known about Facebook is where you can have a real friendship if it is only based around social media websites. Social media does impede on real world friendships and interactions

According to this classic piece, their friendship was based on love and nothing sexual. If you compare what friendship is today and what friendship used to be back in time then alot has changed. People tend to boast on social networks—describing their accomplishments, posting photos of themselves on vacation or doing fun things to imply that they have such a wonderful life. Some people even post a great deal of pictures of themselves when they find themselves attractive in order to gain numerous “likes.” Deresiewicz hits the nail on the head when he states, “Modernity believes in self-expression” (William Deresiewicz 201). There is a lot of emphasis on “self” in modern society, which makes [genuine] friendship hard to

Relationships are two people coming together as one to pursue a common goal. It is a bond, and that bond is supposed to be held together through thick and thin. However, today people change friends as often as they change clothes. Facebook romantic relationships often end fast as well. One day someone is in a relationship, and the next day that person is single. A month later, that same person is in a relationship with another person, and the saga continues. People are seeking feelings instead of pure companionship. People want to feel good about themselves. Having someone else like (and “like”) them makes them feel good about themselves. Getting attention from numerous people because of their new relationship announced on Facebook, or because of their new photo, boosts their self-esteem and ego. The focus does not reflect friendship, which is what Facebook is supposed to represent— connecting with friends—instead, the focus reflects “Self” and Self’s egotistical needs. Finally, Deresiewicz claims that friendship has evolved from offering “moral advice and correction” to, now, offering “nonjudgmental” and “unconditional” acceptance and support (150). While I do believe that friendships should offer unconditional acceptance, since it should be based off love, which is unconditional, I do agree, however, that people do not give