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Is there a tension between what we feel friendship is, and the way we’re doing friendships online?

For some time now Aleks has felt uncomfortable with the way friendships are performed online. There's something about the unspoken transactional expectation of a like for a like; the friend anniversary reminders; the laugh out loud-ness of it all.

The online world – rich with the communities she once loved and learned from, connections forged, old schoolmates rediscovered – has become increasingly empty as a space to perform "friendship".

So is there a tension between what we feel friendship is, and the way we’re doing friendships online?

Aleks explores if the tech we use accurately represents the values we hold dear in our relationships.

Producer: Caitlin Smith

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29 minutes

Last on

Mon 2 Mar 2020 16:30
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Melissa A. Fabello, PhD

Melissa A. Fabello, PhD
Melissa A. Fabello, PhD is a writer and educator whose work focuses on the politics of bodies and wellness. With a growing interest in relational politics specifically, much of Melissa's work looks at improving communication for healthier relationships. She holds a PhD in Human Sexuality Studies.Β 

Alexis Elder

Alexis Elder

Alexis Elder is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her research focuses on interpersonal relationships and emerging technologies, and she draws on historical theories of wellbeing, from China to Greece, to make sense of modern ethical concerns. Her first book, Friendship, Robots, and Social Media: False Friends and Second Selves, was published by Routledge. She writes on topics ranging from the moral impact of unfriending on social media, to an ethical framework for developing chatbots of the dead.Β 

Father Sean Raftis with his TAG Brothers

Father Sean Raftis with his TAG Brothers

Father Sean Raftis serves at St. Richards Catholic Church in Columbia Falls, Montana and is one of the TAG Brothers- a group of ten friends who met in Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Washington who have been playing the game TAG for 30 years.



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  • Mon 2 Mar 2020 16:30
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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