The Possibility of Aristotelian Friendship in Digital Public Spheres and Social Media

In Books 8 and 9 of the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle lays out a probing account of Friendship as the conceptual bridge to moral virtues and the higher philosophical life. With the prominance of Social Media, specifically the apparatus of Facebook, the dominant modes of social interaction and connection are being transplanted into the realm of the digital. Friendship takes on new meanings as the web of networks one has to maintain and navigate become more intricate and complex. The question inevitably turns to the quality of the connections we make and what effect the transition into the digital has on the formation of individuals. What I would like to explore in this paper are the following things: (1) the nature of Friendship and Intimacy in the Digital Age; (2) Whether or not Digital Friendship can achieve Aristotle's notion of Friendship in a meaningful sense; and (3) what this says about our relationship to Technology in general as a mediator of our social realities.