As a society we tend to use friends like dinnerware. Some are good for parties, while others fit at sit-down dinners. Some are fancy for holidays while others are paper and plastic. And best friends, where have they gone? In a world where everyone is apparently your BFF, does that mean no one is your BFF?
The idea of having a best friend is a long-standing one from ages ago. A best friend was defined as someone you spent the majority of your time with, who did everything with you, and who you never tired of, no matter how often he/she stayed over at your house. You shared clothes and their parents called you “that extra kid we can’t seem to shake.”
Even as an adult you had a best friend back in the day, someone who went to concerts and state fairs with you, who threw you hilarious birthday parties with a Paula Abdul theme (every single time), and who carried you on their back when you got stung by an electric eel and swelled up to twice your normal size. Who else would have been around at all those different times but your best friend?
But in this age of “love you all,” and saying “best friends forever” to even your fringe Facebook friends, who can honestly take the moniker seriously anymore? And we now have friends for every occasion. There’s the guy we get drunk with, the girl who we go to the movies with, and the kids who we hang out with when no one else will hang out with us. There’s the girl who we go to the park with, the guys who we play ball against, and the dude who meets us for tea on Thursdays. There’s just not that one person who does everything with us anymore.
I guess that’s kind of sad. And yes, I know that a select few people do still have best friends who they still do everything with, but in this day and age that’s seen as sad and depressing by all the others who have mix-and-match best friends. Well, I’m all for it, you sad and depressing types who still have best friends! Sign me up, because I think there are some things we’ve lost in the tradeoff, in the separation of us from unique individuals whose only thoughts are of doing everything with us. So, if you still have one, and the definition still fits, good for you. But if you’re in the masses who think everyone is your best friend, you don’t really have a best friend.
And that’s okay. Fringe Facebook friends will do.
Sam
Sam's Online Journal 