Prompt:
Thanks to the Internet, the word “friendship” now has a much broader meaning. No longer are the bonds of friendship limited to telephone conversations, shared activities, or speaking face-to-face. In this day and age, very close friendships can be formed without the people ever meeting and by simply typing words on a screen.
Adapted from Sharon Hendricks, “A Broader Definition of Friendship”
Assignment:
Is it easier now to form friendships than ever before?
MY ESSAY
Making “good” friends is an art by itself. However, with the internet, we can make friends just like that. Social networking, especially, has proved to be a great tool for making friends.
An example I would like to cite is the experience my sister had about an year ago. She had just joined college and had a very har time settling down. She found it difficult to adjust to the transition from the school life to the college life. Through the internet, she managed to make friends with the college alumini and seeked their help. From then on, she became comfortable being a part of the college. Everyday she has her doubts clarified from them. In cases like these, the “internet friends” can help us.
But there are situations where the internet may be otherwise. People create fake accounts and just “socialize” with people they don’t know. Recently, I happened to come across an article in the newspaper. A man had created a fake account in a social networking site and claimed to run an orphanage. He triend to raise funds and cheated so many people. Many people lost thousands of rupees.
They say “true friends are hard to find and harder to leave”. Such friends can be made only if we get to know them personally. Friendship cannot be made by mere typing of words on a screen. Internet can be used to make friends by “socializing” but unfortunately in some cases these friends cannot be trusted.