The Changing Definition of Friendship

So I'm not entirely sure that this can be directly connected to what we have been discussing in class but it is quite interesting. As technology makes it easier to meet new people from across the world the definition of what a friend is must necessarily change. Many people would define a friend as someone who you know well, trust, and (key point here) have met in person. This is what I have heard many people say, generally older people or those who don't use computers much, but I don't think this is true. As this article says, social networking sites have changed what it means to be friends with someone. I for one have many friends that I have never actually met but I feel are friends in every meaning of the word. While I don't use social networking sites, such as facebook and myspace, I do a lot of online gaming. I met many people over the 4 years that I played World of Warcraft and I would consider them my friends. I know that at the very least my parents have trouble understanding how I can be friends with someone that I've never physically met, but I don't think that physically meeting someone is a qualifier for being friends anymore. I played with them, I talked with them, I argued with them, shared stories with them, and I know them. That is what it means to be someones friend.

This can be extended from just friends to what is important in life. While I will say that a video game generally be more important events in real life(IRL), sometimes they can be important enough that exceptions should be made. As I have said I played WoW, I admit it and I enjoyed it while it lasted. I did end-game content ranging from Player vs Player(PvP) to Player vs Environment(PvE) and there were times that events in WoW seemed more important to me than something going on IRL. Now this was usually dinner, and on occasion, homework >.>, but that's ok. Anyway my parents never gave me a break and never understood why it was so important to me, and I never understood how having people who were depending on me, people who I had told that I would be there, waiting on me wasn't important. They never understood how people online are still people and they don't like to be kept waiting. I tried to explain its like a meeting for work, you wouldn't want to be late or have to leave in the middle of a meeting to go do something, its the same idea. Now this can be extended outside of gaming and raids, but the fact remains that peoples priorities and the definition of friendship are changing and I can only hope that those who don't understand can cope with the changes because they are coming on fast.

P.S. I know I don't have many links in this... actually I only have 1, but this was kind of a personal rant/interest so I'm hoping the examples from my life will make up for it. And I just like to talk about video games XD. To make up for it enjoy these videos... and yes they are all WoW, its what I know, and no I don't play anymore.



and as a WoW remix, since I heard we would be talking about remixes and such...