How can the word friend possibly describe both the people you went to school with and the people to whom you are connected through Facebook and MySpace? Are friends on the social sites really friends? Is there a better word to describe someone who follows you on Twitter? A caller thinks the English language could use some new words to differentiate among varying levels and types of friendship.
[audio: http://feeds.waywordradio.org/~r/awwwpodcast/~5/ze_B5IMmK9s/090618-AWWW-thats-what-friend-is-for.mp3 ]
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Here's the Snickers commercial that includes the phrase.
How can the word friend possibly describe both the people you went to school with and the people to whom you are connected through Facebook and MySpace? Are friends on the social sites really friends? Is there a better word to describe someone who follows you on Twitter? A caller thinks the English language could use some new words to differentiate among varying levels and types of friendship.
To be automatically notified when audio is available, subscribe to the podcast using iTunes or another podcatching program, or subscribe to the newsletter.
Here's the Snickers commercial that includes the phrase.
What a dilemma! My friend Bubba and I were talking about this last year. I did think of a term for an internet friend - "interquaintence". However, there are 2 possible and opposing definitions and I haven't yet sorted out which of these would be assigned to interquaintence, and which would get its own new word:
1. That coworker whom you see daily sends you a friend request on a social network site, but he rarely says hello or talks to you in person. This is more common than one would expect.
2. A person you have "met" online, but not in person.
Neither meets the traditional definition of friend.
I do wish there were a few more words for friend. Something in between friend and acquaintance.
I think I tend to use the word "friend" more than I should. For example, there are always people at work whose company I enjoy, but I don't share every detail of my life with them. That is reserved for a much smaller circle of people.
People can move among these categories. There are many people who were close friends at one time, but time and geographic distance have lessened that bond.
“just friends†– What does that mean?
…from Randy Glasbergen's Cartoon of the Day web site…
http://www.glasbergen.com
- johng423