Notes on Excellent Online Friendships: An Aristotelian Defense of Social Media

Excellent Online Friendships: An Aristotelian Defense of Social Media

Keywords

  • friendship

  • social media

  • Aristotle

  • privacy

  • shared activity

Abstract

This paper defends the potential of social media to support Aristotelian virtue friendship against various objections. It begins with Aristotle’s assertion that the foundation of excellent friendships is built on a shared life. Friends engage in distinctively human and valuable aspects of their lives, particularly through shared conversation, reasoning, and communal activities. Despite assertions that genuine shared living is not achievable through digital interactions, the argument posits that social media can maintain essential human connections, supporting reasoning, play, and idea exchange. The paper addresses criticisms levied against social media's ability to foster friendships and proposes guidelines for evaluating how social media can facilitate a shared life.

1. Introduction

The author aims to defend the capacity for excellent friendship via social media grounded in Aristotelian philosophy. The argument hinges on Aristotle's categorization of friend types and the shared experiences that contribute to the highest form of friendship: virtue friendships, which are marked by mutual value recognition.

The author contends that friendships can flourish online, as social media enables sharing in deeply human experiences such as conversations, mutual idea development, art creation, and gaming. A significant part of the discussion involves analyzing six objections to this thesis:

  • Privacy objection

  • Superficiality objection

  • Commercialism objection

  • Deceptiveness objection

  • Physicality objection

  • Poverty of communication objection

The paper concludes by discussing ethical considerations of these objections in the context of fostering fulfilling online interactions and friendships.

2. The Shared Life Online

2.1 Types of Friendships

Aristotle categorizes friendships into three types:

  1. Utility Friendships: Based on mutual benefit.

  2. Pleasure Friendships: Based on enjoyment of each other's company.

  3. Virtue Friendships: Recognizing each other’s intrinsic worth, leading to the best form of friendship due to shared values and life experiences.

2.2 Value of Virtue Friendships

Virtue friendships take time to form and are rare as they require individuals to grow familiar with each other’s characters over repeated interactions. These friendships transcend mere utility or pleasure, as they cultivate an understanding where friends share their lives, becoming extensions of each other—essentially, different selves.

2.3 Living Together vs. Grazing Together

Aristotle argues that shared living is accomplished through shared conversation and thought rather than physical cohabitation. He states, 'living together' is defined not by proximity but by the engagement in rational life through shared reasoning and collective conversation. Aristotle emphasizes that fulfilling human activities define shared lives.

2.4 Activities Reflecting a Shared Life

Examples of sharing activities that constitute virtue friendships may include:

  • Drinking together

  • Playing enjoyable games together

  • Exploring philosophies together

  • Engaging in artistic creation and critique

By engaging in these activities, friends enrich each other's experiences and lives. Notably, social media allows for sharing these activities and discussions, providing opportunities for interaction that match Aristotle’s definition of a shared life.

2.5 Nonverbal Communication and Technological Advances

Although modern technology allows activities to occur across vast distances, the essence of friendship—shared experience—is preserved. For instance, because of advances in technology, friends can share experiences such as music videos synchronously, unlike Aristotle's contemporaneous experience of attending the same event only physically.

3. Objections Considered and Refuted

The author critically addresses six objections regarding the ability of social media to host excellent friendships:

3.1 Privacy Objection

This objection posits that social media's public nature complicates the intimate sharing of secrets, leading to diminished friendships.

  • Response: Many social media platforms provide options for private communication. Public exchanges can embody meaningful conversations that contribute to a friendship's richness without requiring secrecy for all interactions. Knowing that social interactions might be observed by others does not negate the intimacy developed through public engagement.

3.2 Superficiality Objection

Critics state that social media leads to superficial interactions that lack the depth of personal exchanges, as users address many rather than targeting specific friends.

  • Response: While broadcasting is one way of using social media, it need not predominate. Social media should be utilized to engage one another through shared interests and collaborations in customized ways, maintaining personal and meaningful interactions despite public visibility.

3.3 Commercialization Objection

The presence of commercial interests on social media raises ethical concerns regarding the quality of friendships fostered in profit-driven environments.

  • Response: Friendships might not be negatively impacted merely because platforms profit from interactions. Parallel situations in offline friendships garner support for this stance. If friends choose to interact in a commercial space intentionally, one cannot claim that the nature of their friendship is diminished.

3.4 Deceptiveness Objection

The deceiving nature of online interactions could undermine trust, suggesting that friends online experience weaker relationships.

  • Response: Deception risks are inherent to all types of friendships, online or offline. The structure of online conversations allows for sustained text-based discussions that can prove revealing about one's character beyond superficial cues, often leading to rich assessments of interpersonal intentions.

3.5 Physicality Objection

Physical presence and interactions traditionally associated with friendships are often absent in online formats, leading some to question the viability of deep friendships online.

  • Response: Although physical interactions bring unique elements to friendships, their absence does not inherently detract from the quality of virtual connections. Effective friendships can also flourish through sustained interaction and emotional depth cultivated through shared experiences.

3.6 Poverty of Communication Objection

Some argue that online communications lack the depth required to form genuine connections, since they remove emotional and nonverbal layers.

  • Response: Textual communication provides a unique opportunity for friendships and can include rich discourse that encourages collective reasoning even without the presence of shared physical activities. Activities such as multiplayer games and journaling constitute rich virtual interactions that support character development within friendships.

4. Aristotelian Guidelines for Online Friendship

The author draws from Aristotelian principles to establish that not all friendships online are virtuous or beneficial. Guidelines for maintaining high-quality online friendships include:

4.1 Avoiding Bad Influence

Friendships with those of poor character can lead to negative impacts; a shared life must include shared virtues to maintain a healthy interaction.

4.2 Inclusion and Openness

Avoiding exclusivity or discouraging participation in social media can harm relationships. Good friendships should transcend technology’s limitations, recognizing their broad implications for connection.

4.3 Managing Conflict

Blocking in social media can alleviate tension but may also avoid necessary confrontations. Effective communication includes discerning whether to engage in difficult dialogues or tactfully avoid conflict.

5. Conclusions about Friendship and Social Media

Despite the superficiality of some online interactions, numerous friendships can still represent virtue friendships. The context of an online platform shapes how friendships develop and can bolster connections that share larger values and pursuits. Social media can thus serve as an effective medium for enriching friendship dynamics when users maintain quality communication and engagement.

5.1 Practical Applications

It’s suggested that social media platforms need user-friendly privacy options and channels for rich conversation to foster supportive environments for virtue friendships. Methods for navigating friendships with delicate social considerations can promote healthy dynamics while utilizing modern communication tools.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to individuals who contributed feedback and insight during the development of this paper and to participants who engaged in the discussions that led to these findings.

References

  • Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. 2nd ed. (1999). Translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett.

  • Additional citations as presented in the transcript.