In these special days where we have had to distance ourselves and have been able to reflect on many aspects of our lives, I think most of you will agree with me in the sense that we have learned to value life, health, families and friendships more. That is why today in my post I want to talk specifically about friendships.

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Friends are an important part of our lives, at all stages, from childhood, to youth, to adulthood. Friendship is a relationship based on trust, respect, loyalty and should be reciprocal. On an emotional level it brings many benefits since feeling listened to, loved, accompanied and understood can help us overcome difficult moments in our lives such as unemployment, breakups, family problems, grief or simply not feeling good at a certain time.

I am one of those people who have few but very valuable friendships. For me it is important to hear from them, sending messages, a happy birthday or just a happy day, knowing how they feel, and letting them know that they can always count on me. It makes me feel valued that they trust me with their ailments, concerns and that I can be a source of support for them. However, I value more a phone call, and sitting down to talk or share a coffee, or a meal.

Perhaps, many will have contact with their closest friends, or with those who are far away through social networks. However, others may have had to make friendships only through social media.

So the question arises, how do we define friendship today, especially with the advent of social media? Can you be as close a friend to a person you only know through social media as you are to those you share in person?

In this regard, there are several opinions

On the one hand, some sociologists state that relational messages are not necessarily given through language but rather through expressions or non-verbal communication, so for example, with our children the relationship is built through smiles, hugs, looks and some messages can be clearly understood just by looking at our faces, so it is difficult for a friendship relationship to be the same if it is only connected through facebook or whatsapp. From a psychological point of view, human beings make use of certain mechanisms that make us pay attention to others, for example when they talk to us, when we hear the voice we focus more attention than the rest of the sound around us, attention that is not achieved if we are far away and only connected through a phone or a computer. So it follows that it is very difficult to build friendships with strong ties, perhaps these media can be used additionally or to maintain a friendship that already existed but not as a total replacement.

On the other hand, there are those who think that to maintain a friendship it is not necessary to be face to face, and that this has been losing significance every day. This may not be understood by older people, but for young people who have been born in the era where social networks are used as mass media to communicate, it generates new concepts about friendship relationships.

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I believe that we must pay attention here, since in the search for "likes" and social acceptance, a lot of private information can be shared on social media platforms, which can put them at risk, as well as their friends and family.

If used correctly they can have their advantages, since most of the conversations are written, it can help people who are shy, that it is not so easy for them to express themselves, by writing they can express their feelings more deeply. As it is established in a voluntary and unforced way, the interest of the other person can be sincere and disinterested and will be sustained by the affinity that can be found, additionally the other person reserves time to establish a bond of friendship which is beneficial.

In conclusion, each of us has our own point of view, and we must reflect on how true and unconditional are the friendships that are maintained through digital media.

Digital communication can be used as a complement to maintain a friendship, it can help us especially when we are not far away in different cities or countries, however, it should not replace communicating face to face, at least not completely.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to your comments!