There have been many debates since its creation over Facebook and how we use it. One such debate is whether your friendships which take place online are as authentic to those which you see face-to-face.

Looking at this from a parents perspective, I can see how spending a large amount of time online would cause some concern. Although privacy settings on site such as Facebook do exist, it is still difficult to determine how safe people really are online. It takes very little effort to create a fake email account or even Facebook or Twitter. Therefore, some might believe that taking this into account, your friendships with those you see face-to-face are more real and truthful. It is very difficult to pretend to be someone you are not when not online.

However, these social networking sites do bring people closer together. In some cases it is very difficult to organise times when you can meet with one of your friends to catch up. This may be due to a busy life style or your friend living far away. So I believe that Facebook is a great way of keeping in touch. One of my best friends lives in New South Wales and we talk all the time through Facebook. Not only is it free, but it is easy to keep in contact. We can chat, share photos, and tag each other in funny videos. Additionally, I have a good friend who lives in Paris. During the Paris attacks last year he was able to check in as “safe” to let everyone know he was ok. This is just one example where Facebook has been used in a very positive way.

Therefore, I personally believe that friendships which occur mostly online are just as authentic as those you see face-to-face. Just because you don’t talk to someone face to face, doesn’t make the encounter any less real or valued. Having said that, we shouldn’t live our life completely online. But we can certainly use sites like Facebook to keep in touch with all our friends and family.