Types of friends
Thanks to Ben Casnocha, I came across this interesting article today about friendships in the cyber-age. The general premise is based on Aristotle's idea that there are three types of friendship:
Aristotle categorizes three different types of friendship: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure, and friendships of the good. Friendships of utility are those where people are on cordial terms primarily because each person benefits from the other in some way. Business partnerships, relationships among co-workers, and classmate connections are examples. Friendships of pleasure are those where individuals seek out each other's company because of the joy it brings. Passionate love affairs, people associating with each other due to belonging to the same hobby organization, and fishing buddies fall into this category. Most important of all are friendships of the good. These are friendships based upon mutual respect, admiration for each other's virtues, and a strong desire to aid and assist the other person because one recognizes their essential goodness.
The author Tim Madigan essentially reinforces this view, but notes how easy it is to continue friendships in these digital times where we are all connected by just a few button clicks. It's a good point, and one that Facebook has made clear to me in the past few days. An old school acquaintance has added me as a friend -- part of me wonders if we have anything in common anymore, but on the other hand, can it hurt to have these loose connections everywhere?