Do you think friendships as a whole in our time are weaker?

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What have we lost or gained in our ability to fully express ourselves in our friendships in our contemporary, Western society?

One thing that has been lost in the ability to express the nature of friendships in contemporary Western society entirely is the inability to form friendships beyond the benefits. A lot of people today are only friends because of the tangible benefits that they get from their friendships. According to Aristotle’s view of friendship, there are three main expressions of this form of relationship; utility, pleasure, and delight (Vernon, 2010). Friendships that are based on utility are held together by mutual usefulness. In my opinion, most of the friendships in contemporary Western society are held together by mutual usefulness. For instance, some people are friends because of the financial or business relationship that they have with each other. Once that utility is eliminated, there is nothing left of the relationship. People today have lost the ability to fully express themselves in their friendships because of the inability to find deeper meaning in friendships.

To what extent is the enactment and expression of friendship similar/ different in contemporary society compared with Medieval Europe and Ancient Greece?

The perception and practice of friendships have changed through different eras. The similarity between the contemporary practice of friendship with medieval Europe and Ancient Greece is that friendships are voluntary relationships. Through different eras, friendships have remained as voluntary affairs. Nonetheless, there have been some significant changes that make the practice of friendship in the past to be different from that which is seen today. One of the significant differences today is the strength of friendships. Friendships in Medieval Europe/Ancient Greece were given as much respect as other stronger bonds such as marriage (Budgeon, 2006). It was much harder to break friendships as it is today. In contemporary society, friendships are considered as bonds of mutual benefit, which makes them weaker. Some personal and societally-imposed constraints limit the sharing of friendships in today’s society. Personal factors, such as psychological issues that limit the development of bonds. Societally imposed constraints such as the stereotypical views of mutual benefit in friendship also limit bonds. For instance, some people consider others their friends only when they can rely on them to financially help them when in need. There should be other ways to develop strong bonds other than the benefits people get from one another.

References

Budgeon, S. (2006). Friendship and formations of sociality in late modernity: the challenge of ‘post-traditional intimacy.' Sociological Research Online, 11(3), 1-11.

Vernon, M. (2010). The Meaning of Friendship. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Chapter 6: Politics of Friendship.