34: Myths of modern friendship

03/25/22 • 25 min

From Project BFF HQ, Terri + Manya riff about friendships in our current times.
There is a fear that friendships have changed, thanks to social media and our always-on culture. Is that really true? With Facebook choosing the word "friend" to mean our connections on the site, does that diminish the value of the word? Does online interaction with a friend have any impact on our relationship in real life?
There have been fears about technology impacting our relationships all through recorded history, including fear in the early 20th century that landline telephones were going to ruin social interaction.
We also discuss the Dunbar number and what are the limits on the number of friends we can have.
Resources we discuss:
The myths and reality of modern friendship, by Rebecca Roache
Why the Digital Age Is Not Destroying Friendship, by Lydia Denworth, author of Friendship
Read our interview with Lydia on Project BFF.

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*****
Thank you for listening.
After much reflection, we have made the difficult decision to shut down Project BFF and the podcast. Our last podcast episode aired on August 23, 2024. We are leaving the podcast live on Buzzsprout through the end of 2024.
We are proud of this podcast and honored to have hosted such amazing and engaging guests.
Our hope is that Project BFF and Friendshipable have inspired you to form new friendships, strengthen existing ones, and encourage others to do the same
Thank you for being a part of our story. The two of us have truly deepened our friendship during this time, and we look forward to new and memorable adventures together in and around New England, which serves as the adopted home for both of us.
With gratitude and friendship,
Manya and Terri
To contact us, you can email Manya at [email protected]

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Previous Episode

33: Friends + Machine Learning with Jesper Algaard

From Project BFF HQ and Bergen, Norway, Terri + Manya riff with Jesper Algaard, founder and CEO of the Venn app, about machine learning and friendships.
Venn means friend in Norwegian.
How do we figure out who we will be friends with? What kind of people do we hang out with and why? And what do computers have to do with it? And how can technology make it easier to make a connection?
Jesper and the team at Venn have been doing some research about how we relate to each other and how people trust each other. Yet these qualitative studies only give a small piece of the story. How can machine learning help us understand what really draws friends to each other?
What kind of friend are you looking for--like, a gym partner, a travel partner, or a gaming buddy, for example? What are you interested in doing with a friend? What kind of social settings do you prefer? Once you enter in that info, you can find new friends. Venn has connected 10,000 friendships so far. And they have evolved to connect people in many different ways, including their new group activity setting (because for some folks, it can be easier to get to know people in a group instead of one to one.)
Download Venn here or in the app store, the app that makes it easy to find new people and create activities based on interests and preferences.
Follow Venn on Facebook or InstagramWant to learn more about Venn? Reach Jesper directly: [email protected]

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Next Episode

35: Making friends by volunteering

From Project BFF HQ, Terri + Manya riff about making friends by volunteering.
For those who have time to volunteer, it can be a great way to meet people. You are doing something you both enjoy and helping out the community. It isn't automatic that you will connect with someone while you volunteer, but you have a very good chance--since having things in common and spending time together are key building blocks for a friendship.
Volunteering is also a great way to strengthen existing friendships when you volunteer together and practice your social skills--even if you don't become close friends with anyone you share similar interest and have a shared topic to discuss.
In a recent survey, 1 in 5 people said that volunteering is a way to combat loneliness.
We discuss volunteering for organizations that have personal meaning for you. And how not every volunteer opportunity is the right fit.

#BeAFriend