Friends it’s about time that someone mentions the overuse of the word "friend." It seems that people today have become nearly as obsessed with this word, as they have with the word "love."
According to Webster's Dictionary, "friend" is defined as: 1 a: one attached to another by affection or esteem b: acquaintance; 2 a: one that is not hostile b: one that is of the same nation, party, or group; 3: one that favors or promotes something (as a charity); 4: a favored companion; 5 capitalized: a member of a Christian sect that stresses Inner Light, rejects sacraments and an ordained ministry, and opposes war —called also Quaker — friend•less \ˈfren(d)-ləs\ adjective — friend•less•ness noun — be friends with: to have a friendship or friendly relationship with In today's society, people have become accustomed to the overuse of the word and are more interested in tallying up the amounts of so-called friends, rather than truly understanding the meaning and value of a friend.
For instance, our former presidential candidate, John McCain made frequent mention of his "friend, Joe, the Plumber." Do we honestly believe they were friends? What about the references to McCain's opponent as his friend? Personally, I would hope that my "friends" would not make the accusations against me that he made against his opponent, President-Elect, Barack Obama. Of course, this overuse and devaluation of the word, is greatly emphasized by networking sites such as MySpace and Face book, within which, each member is encouraged to "add friend" in order to connect with someone else. Personally, I would prefer to just "add" rather than "add friend" because not every MySpace friend, is worthy of this designation. In my opinion, Webster's definition of a "friend" is accurate.
My friends are those whom I share affection for, those whom aren't hostile toward me, those who share a common interest in a group, nation or family involvement, and those who I may have spiritual connection with, and most important, "a favored companion." My friends, I hope, truly are people who care about me, my well-being, and enjoy my company, but who aren't out to see my pains and magnify my failures or imperfections. The sense of value that should be attached to identifying someone as your friend is often overlooked in today's society. In this day and age, too many people are likely to gossip about their so-called friends while taking efforts to sabotage that friend's happiness. This behavior has been coined in the term "frienemy" which is used to describe an enemy disguised as a friend. It's important for people not to get caught up in the popularity contest of accumulating "friends", and to truly think about which of these friends would be there during the time of need. From one so-called "friend" to another, my advice to you is....considering the fact that you will be lucky to have five true friends during your lifetime. So, pick your friends carefully.