New technologies, such as cell phones and the internet, contribute to the maintenance of lasting friendships, as they facilitate contact between people in a society in which time has become increasingly scarce. This is, in summary, the understanding of a group of young adults living in the city of São Paulo interviewed for the doctoral thesis by sociologist Bárbara Garcia Ribeiro da Silva, recently defended at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH) at Unicamp, under the guidance of professor Gilda Figueiredo Portugal Gouvea. “These same people stated, however, that lasting friendship cannot do without face-to-face meetings”, reveals the author of the work.

In her research, within the area of ​​Sociology of Friendship, Bárbara worked with the concept of “social function” of friendship, a topic that deserved reflection by both classical and contemporary thinkers. The sociologist explains that friendship normally fulfills the role of maintaining the structure of a given social group. When this does not occur, what experts classify as a “dysfunction” arises. To better understand this type of relationship, the researcher interviewed 37 residents of the city of São Paulo, aged 24 and 40, belonging to the middle classes of the population – all of them were graduates or had completed higher education.

The author of the thesis wanted to know from the interviewees, among other questions, how they saw the role of friendship in today's world, marked by the presence of different technologies. Here, the sociologist makes an important observation. According to her, this type of approach provides the researcher with the opportunity to analyze both the manifest function, the one mentioned by the individuals consulted, and the latent function, the one that does not appear directly in the statements, but is present between the lines of the speech. “I studied these two dimensions because I needed a complete functionalist analysis. Through them, the sociologist is able to achieve a type of social engineering”, she details.

Such functions, continues Bárbara, have undergone changes over time. In ancient Rome, for example, the social function of friendship was associated with affection. In the era of Romanticism, affinity. In the interviews she conducted, the sociologist identified that the manifest function most mentioned in the participants' responses in relation to lasting friendship was the exchange of affection, followed by self-knowledge. The latent function, according to the sociologist, corresponds to “an unconditional availability in time”. “They said that, when they need help, they know they can count on their friend, even if it is in the early hours of the morning,” she reports.

Within this context, continues the author of the thesis, the interviewees pointed to new technologies as useful tools for maintaining this lasting friendship. According to them, in a city like São Paulo, where travel is made difficult by chaotic traffic, it is relatively common to postpone meetings with friends. Therefore, the use of cell phones and the internet is considered important, as they contribute to continued contact, even at a distance. Through these technologies, those consulted considered, a friend can keep up to date with what is happening with the other, have the opportunity to exchange photographs and schedule face-to-face meetings.

Face-to-face contact, Bárbara points out, was highlighted by those interviewed as an essential condition for preserving lasting friendship. “Although they consider the use of technology valid, they understand that nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting”, she reveals. Several participants admitted, however, that eye-to-eye meetings have become more spaced out, precisely because of the rush of everyday life. “Some people said that they only see their friend once a year, but they know that the relationship remains solid and that they can always count on the other, regardless of the circumstances”, adds the sociologist.

Furthermore, many research participants stated that friendship begins with affinity and then evolves into affection. Affinity, in this case, is not related to common interests, but rather to shared experiences, as Bárbara points out. An example of this, according to the researcher, appeared in the speech of one of the interviewees. She said that her father had his car stolen and so he could no longer pick her up after the party. Upon learning of the episode, her friends decided, in an act of solidarity, to walk home with her.

Exclusive

An important fact about the field research carried out for the doctoral thesis, according to Bárbara, is that it was carried out in two stages. The first was carried out in the second half of 2010 and the second between December 2012 and August 2013. According to the sociologist, one differs from the other, due to the emergence of new technologies on the market. “In the first phase, for example, cell phones were used more for oral communication and for sending text messages, popularly called text messages. In the second, to access the internet, access social networks, send text messages and establish contacts via whatsapp. It was also possible to notice that, in the second phase of the research, e-mail started to be used more for professional activities”, he says.

Still in relation to the methodology used, the author of the thesis informs that she used an investigation technique in which the use of time is fundamental. Bárbara applied a questionnaire that allows a broader and more in-depth survey of the interviewees' habits. Thus, instead of going directly into the topic of interest, which was the social function of friendship, she initially addressed other aspects, such as the means of transport used by the person to get to work, the moment in which they turn on their cell phone or What programs do you usually do on weekends?

With this procedure, the sociologist was able to obtain some relevant evidence, such as “who the interviewee’s friends are” and “how the interviewee usually uses their cell phone and the internet”. “This type of instrument is very interesting because it allows us to reach study items through more spontaneous statements. For me, it was a very interesting work to do. I learned a lot about friendship. I hope that my research serves as a point of reflection for people about this type of relationship”, declares the author of the thesis.

Publication

Thesis: “The social function of lasting friendship in contemporary society: study with young adults living in the metropolis of São Paulo”
Author: Bárbara Garcia Ribeiro da Silva
Advisor: Gilda Figueiredo Portugal Gouvea
Unity: Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH)