Concept in Definition ABC

The concept of friendship is broad and subjective, but in social terms it implies the affective relationship between people, although other living beings are often spoken of as our “friends”. The term comes from Latin and is probably related to the term "love."

In general, friends are often said to be "like brothers who choose each other." In social conventions, friendship is spoken of when there is a shared feeling between two people of confidence, I respect, affection and emotional empathy. These relationships vary from person to person, and throughout history friendships have evolved and the way of understanding them has also changed.

If perhaps in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for women were friends their companions of social gatherings or tea meetings, today we can call all our Facebook contacts "friends"

From the friendships between nobles or "aristocrats" we have reached the era of the "rooms" of chats divided by age, country, love intentions and even sexuality. How have the forms and the concept of friendship in general changed so radically? Undoubtedly, the computer advancement has wreaked havoc, and not only in this aspect of daily life (for example, the way of meeting someone as a future partner has also changed).

The consolidation of the English language as a "global" language allows that, mastering it, we can know and interact with many more people than if we do it in our native language (surely if you are reading this, it will be the Spanish). Could we talk about the "globalized" era of friendship? I do not doubt it, because all the facets of our life, and therefore, the forms of socialization they are inevitably crossed.

In the different stages of life, different types of friendships take place with a lesser or greater importance

Many people will agree that true friends are those who have accompanied us in our most relevant moments and experiences. Friends could well enter the secondary group in our social sphere (it is known that the first is the family) because it is in the “secondary” spaces of our life where we can find them: the neighborhood, the club, the school, workshops music, arts or dances, language schools... And when we are older: at university, at work, and without forgetting the "friends of friends" who become part of our own circle friendly.

The term "best friends" is usually interpreted as those who, within our entire circle of friendship are with whom we have the highest level of trust, appreciation, affection or It may be that in addition to all this, they are the ones we have known for the longest time, such as when we are older and still hang out with our childhood or pre-childhood friends. school.

Friends share good and bad experiences, encourage and comfort each other in negative situations, maintain loyalty to each other, and identify with each other

In many countries, such is the case of Argentina for example, there is a commemorative day to celebrate "friendship" and it is precisely called "day of the friend”. It is celebrated on July 20 of each year, and its origin dates back to 1969 when the first man set foot on the lunar surface. Even in something as personal and cultural as friendship, there are different types of talk, such as when it is said that penpals or virtual friends exist (thanks to Internet) or friends from fraternities such as in universities in the United States and others.

Today, thanks to the virtues of the Web, we can meet many more people than before and keep in touch with friends from all over the world through the well-known social networks that allow us to connect with multiple people at the same time, share photos, get involved in common groups and others activities.

In recent years, an important debate has arisen regarding whether friendship between people of a different sex is possible without the mediation of a romantic interest.

Even the debates are extended to whether after breaking up a love relationship, both can continue a friendship relationship. It seems that going from friendship to love is much easier than going from love to friendship, don't you think?

Adventure friends, and the need to have someone's support and backing

There are famous friends like the detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Watson, Batman and Robin, or Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. In all these historical pairs of friendships (all of them fictitious), although one is the protagonist of the history and who takes all the honors, in itself the message of "you can not do anything alone" is implicit. In all of them, the help of friends (be it Watson, Robin or Sancho Panza) is essential for the success and triumph of the protagonist.

In any case, it is common to say that friends can only be counted on the fingers of the hand and that, without matter all the moments that we go through in our lives, the true friends will be those who are forever.

Photos 2, 3: iStock - Halfpoint / petrunjela

Friendship Topics