What Aristotle’s views of Friendship means to the Social Media Generation

In the age of social media, friendships have grown from a handle of friends right around the corner to hundreds of friends from around the world.  According to Aristotle this new version of friendship is not a Complete Friendship.  Aristotle’s friendships are broken down into three areas, Friendships of Utility, Friendships of Pleasure, and Complete friendships. Aristotle believes anyone can be in a friendship of utility or pleasure; only virtuous people can be in a Complete Friendship. In order to become be in a complete friendship, they must have to be good or virtuous people. For only Virtuous People can become Complete Friends. They must also have reciprocating good feelings for each other and want each other to succeed. Each must know how the other feels.  And they need to enjoy each other’s company without having to have an activity. These three criteria to have complete friendships are also going to be the criteria These facts brings question to whether in the age of social media, have people lost the ability to become Complete Friends or have real meaningful friendships. People go through life with Twitter, Facebook, and other ways to communicate increasing the amount of people to communicate with but decrease the amount of meaningful conversation.  These social media associates know little to personal information about each other.  Even less have seen each other’s houses or families.  While these social media outlets have brought good things and brought old friends back together.  It has set aside the want to have a close friend, friends that come over and hang out just to sit around and be in the company of each other.

The criteria for judging whether or not having true friendships in social media are if the friendship has reciprocating good feelings for each other, if they enjoy spending time with each other online, and whether both people in the friendship are virtuous people.