Facebook has changed the traditional definition of friendship by allowing users to have hundreds of "friends" that they have never met in person. Studies show the average Facebook user has 245 friends, even though research suggests people can only maintain about 150 personal relationships. While Facebook allows people to socialize online, it has also led to more contact with strangers, with over 40% of teenage users reporting being approached by a complete stranger with no mutual connections. However, most teens ignore contact from strangers, showing they can recognize "stranger danger" online, even if Facebook blurs the line between online acquaintances and real friends.

1. You’ve Got a Friend in Me:
How facebook is changing the
meaning of riendship
By: Patrick Ryan

2. Traditionally friendship has meant a personal,
reciprocated relationship.
Image via octaviolopez (morguefile)

3. Image via Wikimedia Commons
“A true friend
freely, advises justly, assists
readily, adventures
boldly, takes all patiently, defends
courageously, and continues a
friend unchangeably.” -William Penn

4. A friend is no longer defining title of a
personal relationship but a verb used to
“friend” someone on Facebook.
Image via John Russell (Flickr)
Facebook is changing the definition
of the word friend.

5. “One person can maintain a
maximum of 150 personal social
relationships...”
-Robin Dunbar
Professor of Evolutionary Psychology
Oxford
“any more and they become un-personalized. Voyeurs
into your little world.”
Image via Wikimedia Commons

6. Image via kaysha (flickr)
Thanks to Facebook you now always know exactly how
many friends you have... or don’t have.

7. A study conducted by PEW Internet found that in the
sample conducted the average person had 245 friends.
Image via Ianus Keller (flickr)
Even 500+ Facebook friends is a common
occurrence.
Source: Hampton, Keith et al., Why most
Facebook users get more than they give

8. So most people have more
Facebook friends than they
can possibly maintain
REAL friendships with.
Image via missyredboots (morguefile)

9. To raise that number even further you must request a
new friend. A strange concept for traditional friendships.
Photo via ansik (flickr)

10. opened to the public in
2006
Image via Pixabay

11. That means for a 13 year-old ready to join
Facebook for the first time this year, the
concept of a Facebook
friend has been
around as long
as they’ve
been making
friends.
Image via WIkimedia Commons

12. A PEW Internet study found that 1 in 6 online teens were
connected to “friends” on social networking sites who they had
not met in person...
Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary,
Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks
Image via Facebook.com

13. and 1 in 3 social networking teens had “friends” they had never
personally met.
Image via Karti Gabor (morguefile)

14. Facebook changes the concept of a traditional friendship by allowing
you to socialize with “friends” without ever having to meet them face-
to-face.
If you have never met someone in person you can
never be sure of
who they really are.
Image via epSos.de (flickr)

15. A PEW Internet study found that:
43% of social networking
teens have been
approached online by
a complete stranger,
someone with no connection
to any other friends
Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary,
Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks
Image via mzacha (morguefile)

16. Girls aged 15-17 were the most likely to report
some kind of stranger contact:
51% of the girls surveyed
Only 30% of boys in the same age group only
reported similar contact.
Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary,
Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks Image via Wikimedia Commons

17. Despite the large number of teens
contacted by strangers online,
Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Madden, Mary, Image via Eve Arnold
65% just ignored the contact

18. This does not mean that they
recognize a true friend.
Image via Alvimann (morguefile)
Although, teens are able to recognize
“stranger danger”,

19. Facebook has the capability of
maintaining friendships but it should
not create one.
Image via o0o0xmods0o0o (morguefile)

20. The definition of friend is a relative one. It is up to you to
decide if someone is truly a friend or just an
acquaintance on Facebook.

21. Sources
• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Teens-Privacy-
and-Online-Social-Networks/6-Friendship-Strangers-and-
Safety-in-Online-Social-Networks/01-One-in-four-online-
teens-make-friends-on-social-networks.aspx
• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Facebook-
users.aspx
• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/18--Social-
Isolation-and-New-Technology.aspx
• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Teens-Privacy-
and-Online-Social-Networks/6-Friendship-Strangers-and-
Safety-in-Online-Social-Networks/01-One-in-four-online-
teens-make-friends-on-social-networks.aspx
Image via rilegator (flickr)