A summary of

“ The Meaning of Friendship in a social Networked World” by Alex Pattakos Summary Pattakos draws detailed information fromthe allegations of Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher who first explained on the relevance of friendship. In his work, Pattakos begins by defining the meaning of friendship. According to Aristotle, friendship is “ A single swell that dwells in two bodies.” Dr. Alex reveals the contrast between Aristotle’s definition and that of the contemporary world involving a vast technological advancement. Social media as Facebook, YouTube, twitter, LinkedIn, and histogram play a significant role in shaping friendship in the modern world. Pattakos affirms that despite a vast connection to a large group of friends, the modern socializing platforms are not of certified quality as those in the ancient days described by Aristotle.
In his case, Pattakos, an author of the bestselling book internationally Prisoners of Our Thoughts, explains the relevance of every individual having a Facebook account. Pattakos provides detailed evidence while declaring his well-understood thesis in the second paragraph. In his thesis, Pattakos ascertains that electronic media currently replace the enjoyment of the real human contact and interaction. The electric stimuli that are a typical form of shallow friendship as narrow social connections are in contrast to the type of true friendship described by Aristotle (Pattakos 1).
Aristotle placed more value on real friendship as an important determinant of a meaningful life. Modern association is largely losing its ascribed meaning as everything becomes digitalized. People including prominent leaders in the world fail to appreciate the role of friendship in shaping their social ties. The author explains the view of Zuckerberg a famous computer expert and Eduardo Saverin, a core founder of Facebook, who disputes the idea of a single soul dwelling in their two bodies. Pattakos seeks to establish the implication of technology such as Twitter on real friendship in modern life and its role in promoting meaningful existence addressed by Aristotle.
As a result, the search for knowledge is the primary intrinsic motivation of man. Studies reveal that technological advancement contributes to losing of friends reducing the number of trusted acquaintances that individuals could turn and share vital information. Pattakos utilizes a mixed strategy of questions to make the reader relate to his argument and try to answer the rhetoric questions directly. Use of questionnaires is a crucial strategy for drawing meaningful information that any author is interested in gaining from the audience.
Pattakos significantly places his argument in reference to that of Aristotle by providing significant evidence of the discussion topic. In addition, Pattakos uses a rhetoric question while ending his piece that plays a significant role in the readers’ actions in determining future relationships. Pattakos claims that reduced contact with friends make people prefer individuals who play a small role in their lives and care less about them compared to trusted friends. At the end of the article, the author solidifies the argument. However, the audience remains perplexed on identifying helpful friends. Pattakos’ exploration of relevance of friendship is most relevant in the contemporary social setting. The dominance of social media use renders Pattakos’ argument of essence to most of today’s population.
Works Cited
Pattakos, Alex. The Meaning of Friendship in a Social-Networked World. “ The Huffington Post. Oct 16, 2010. Web Feb 09, 2015 < http://www. huffingtonpost. com/alex-pattakos/the-meaning-of-friendship_b_761740. html>