The age of technology and the development of social media platform have made distance a subtle factor that hinders human interaction. Currently, there is a rapid increase in the level of communication between people who are in different locations. The involvement sometimes influences close friendships, similar to the actual physical friends people have around. Most individuals have relied on the digital world that provides them with virtual connections with other persons in different aspects. Despite the correlation that develops on the internet, the question of whether social media can facilitate and guarantee the establishment of a real friend has remained a key area of discussion. However, issues such as voluntary disclosure allow people to deceive each other in virtual communication making it impossible to have real friendship.
Generally, to develop a real friendship, both parties should have some shared experience together. For instance, attending a particular function or being invited by a colleague to a function, you ought not to participate because there is no personal interest associated with it (Cocking & Matthews, 2000, p. 224). Having the opportunity to build such memories together enables people to understand what the other party prefers, thus promoting embracing of one another. Similarly, physical contact is a necessary recipe for developing mutual friendship. The close contact creates a genuine bond between the participants, thus making it easier to correlate effectively. All these aspects that facilitate a deep connection of comprehension of people are missing in the virtual world. The sharing of good moments and physical contacts is limited and cannot be practiced adequately through the net. This makes it challenging to develop a constructive relationship amongst the individuals.
Moreover, there is the excessive practice of hyper-reality influence on the internet platform. Most people on the net usually portray a different lifestyle compared to their normal standards. This factor creates a high level of deception because individuals try to believe and cope with the given standards their friends are showing. Participants have control of what they present to the other party and, therefore, in most cases, choose to display a better image than what they really are. Such aspects complicate the possibility of developing a real connection within social media. On this basis, it becomes difficult to recognize the person’s character, thus limiting the confidence of genuine friendship.
The internet communication constraints play a vital role in enabling participants to carefully and thoughtfully present their opinions to others. It is clear that with all the features that social media platform offers, a person can take advantage and compose him or herself effectively and accordingly to match the perception of the recipient. These attributes magnify individuals and make them display the image they would want to be seen. Basing the argument that close friendship requires openness and honesty, if a person may choose to omit some important details during a conversation, it shows how ineffective the relationship can be.
In order to develop a strong relationship, the participant must remain true and sincere to one another. However, net communication is based on voluntary disclosure to provide a colleague with personal details. The scenario grants people the ability to ignore further some information they feel might interfere with their interests as well as the other party’s. Limited self-disclosure reduces the capability to explore essential traits that a person can compare to theirs to justify a close friendship. Individuals are primarily attracted to people they feel share similar characteristics, making them see their personalities reflected on the other party (Cocking & Matthews, 2000, p. 224, p. 228). The virtual connection provides poor interpretation, thus making it a significant challenge to determine and value the extent attributes participants have in common.
Furthermore, most conversations on social media platforms are influenced by the nature and sensitivity of the content. People tend to articulate and draw a conclusion about communication based on the trends on the net. Individuals become more persuaded by other people’s perspectives hence they become irrational (Cocking & Matthews, 2000, p. 225). The contextualization of opinions may make persons, even those with better and relevant ideas, be seen as lunatics; hence their point of view is ignored. This aspect may lead to misleading confessions an individual may make to the other participant. The nature of communication is determined by what is happening on the platform.
Despite the challenges such as control and choice of self-presentation, virtual communication can inspire a strong and effective relationship between participants in a number of ways. According to the work of Briggle (2008, p. 73), expressing oneself through writing indicates the commitment of an individual and the value they give to the other party. Generally, constructing messages takes time, and if a person can manage to dedicate themselves to forego other things, it implies they treasure the good that comes with friendship, and they are willing to take it to a higher level. Furthermore, sending messages portrays much affection, which can then be interpreted by either party as a real friendship. The feedback from the other participant also creates warm feelings, which facilitate the development of trust and sincerity that is needed for real friendship.
The virtual environment is also effective in providing people with the ability to control and display the traits they are able and willing to disclose to their friends. The aspect allows individuals to retain their dignity and confidence because they are sure the other party does not have any idea about the character they do not want to show. This will make a person participate and contribute accordingly to building the connection. According to Briggle (2008, p. 72), these elements of self-identity are betrayed in non-virtual communication. Therefore, offline interaction limits the ability of some people to relate towards making a constructive connection because the other party will notice the traits and thus withdraws, supposing they are not willing to tolerate them.
In addition, under some circumstances, some individuals may be shy to disclose their intentions during physical interaction. The fear, therefore, derails them from expressing their desires hence lowering the ability to develop a strong friendship. With the use of the internet platform, a person has the freedom and space to explicitly and vividly describe their intentions without any panic. Therefore, it indicates that virtual communication enables people to have confidence and thus make a better relationship with one another.
Moreover, voluntary disclosure that is portrayed in the online environment is evident in trust. If a person chooses to communicate about their traits, it indicates how they feel and their intention towards having a real friendship (Cocking & Matthews, 2000, p. 229). This factor is essential in proving the degree of connection, and the attachment one has for another. Unlike a virtual setting, an offline environment may prompt a person to display an untrue self. The act of deception will result in less affection, supposing one party realizes the truth.
Similarly, comparing the pace of speaking and writing, the latter happens at a slower rate, making it enable an individual to be more attentive. This factor allows an individual to effectively study and understand the other party, thus discovering hidden truths about their lives and traits. According to Briggle’s (2008, p. 73) argument, the pace enhances the opportunity to properly articulate and comprehend the reactions of the participant in accordance with the description of a friend. The virtual platform offers this aspect of deliberateness which makes people explore deeper about themselves and thus can facilitate the development of genuine friendship.
Based on the above arguments, I concur with the ideology of Cocking and Matthew. The online platform does not provide a proper basis to determine and evaluate the nature of an individual. People have adequate control over what they portray to the other party, which gives them the advantage to deceive effectively. A good number of individuals on the internet are not real despite the attention they offer; some are available there to pass the time; therefore, whatever they say does not match what they do. To be able to interact and develop a strong friendship, both parties must be driven by honesty and sincerity. However, these aspects are self-controlled in net communication. Therefore, it is challenging to establish real friend in the virtual world.
In conclusion, to develop strong bonds that promote affections that build true friendship, individuals should have the opportunity to interact physically. The non-virtual settings allow people to clearly observe the real person, thus eliminating the aspect of deception associated with online communication. Furthermore, through offline interaction, an individual will not be able to hide the traits for long; therefore, a person at some point will detect if there are some aspects of dishonesty in the friendship. The reasoning supports the argument of Cocking and Matthew that it is impossible to have a true virtual relationship.
References
Briggle, A. (2008). Real friends: How the Internet can foster friendship. Ethics and Information Technology, 10(1), 71-79.
Cocking, D., & Matthews, S. (2000). Unreal friends. Ethics and Information Technology, 2(4), 223-231.