ACTIVITY 

Find some interesting quotes about friendship on the internet. Do a Google search for friendship quotes and pick a few you most agree with. Publish the quotes in the class wiki. Don’t forget to add the name of the author of the quote.

QUESTIONS

What was happening when the event happened?
Where were you at the time?
What were you doing?
How were you feeling?
Were there more people present? Who?
What were they doing?
What did your friend do? Why did he/she do that?
How did you feel when he/she did that?

EXAMPLE

I was going to a concert with my friends. We were walking in the street. It was dark and I tripped over and fell. I sprained my ankle. My friends helped me get on my feet again, but then they left me because they didn’t want to miss the concert. Only Tinka stayed. She called my parents and informed them of my accident. Then she called a taxi and went with me to see a doctor. I was in terrible pain and really needed help.

I’ll never forget that she was there for me, ready to miss the concert with her favourite band playing. She’s a real friend.

ACTIVITY 

In your classwiki, create a table like this one.

A DIALOGUE


Lila: I don’t like it when I hear people talk about real friends versus online friends. This implies that online friendship is not real. Hey, I spend about two hours a day online communicating with people. I share, I work, I chat, I listen. And believe me, it’s very real social interaction. I know it's real ‘cause I’m part of it. And I am very real.
Dylan: Yes, I agree. And usually the people who claim that you have to see the person to communicate with them are the ones who used to spend hours on the phone talking to their friends when they were teenagers. Or they wrote letters to their pen friends. What’s the difference between a paper letter and a text message? Or, a phone conversation and a Skype talk? None! Just because older people are not used to new modes of communication, they say it’s not good.
Lila: Exactly. And here’s another misconception. Supporters of the view that only face-to-face interaction counts would say that you need to look people in the eye when you talk to them to see their real emotions. But do you really need to? Is all face-to-face communication honest and genuine? Don’t people present themselves in the best light regardless of where they interact? For instance, someone in a bar may put on their best clothes and pretend to be classy, witty, friendly, and lighthearted, whereas they are not at all like that in their private life. We’ve all met people who turned out to be different when we got to know them better. People are people no matter where we meet them. The same rules apply online and offline.
Dylan: Yes. People are the same wherever they are. One thing that also annoys me is when people say that online friendship is shallow and superficial. Friendship is about sharing our intimate world. Often people in the offline world can’t open up and confess their intimate problems to people in their hometown because they are afraid that people around them will judge them or not understand them. Sharing one’s deepest thoughts, emotions, and problems is sometimes easier online precisely because you don’t know the person. You are less afraid to share your inner world with complete strangers from another country because you know you won’t be judged by them. Also, sometimes you have a problem that people around you can't understand. And even if they wanted to help, they can’t. But somebody in an international online forum that unites people with the same problem can deeply understand you and offer the support you need.
Lila: You’re right, of course. You mention forums and some people say that advice you get there can be false. And I say, yes, it can be false, as false as advice anyone can give you in face-to-face interaction. You may get advice from somebody you know in person but they may be envious or jealous or mean and may give you false advice. Will you believe them and follow their advice only because they talk to you face-to-face?
Dylan: Yes. So I think, parents who complain about the dangers and pitfalls of social networks should teach their kids the universal skills of distinguishing between true and false friendship, so that kids can use them online and offline.