#closeties

[josefadamu]

Sunday School presents

“Close Ties.”

Photography by Ararsa Kitaba

Creative Direction/Curation by Josef Adamu

Retouching by Christina Ebenezer

Modeled by Giovanni Ellis + Darnell Nicholson

Full story, plus more from Sunday School avaiable at www.ssunday.co

[d-dotangelettie]

#CloseTies - Mad x Murder - #LA @rsvpmase https://www.instagram.com/p/BwPpUpYlT1m/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cf08dv5l0r87

[farahdelilahtawfik-blog]

Week 2: Friendships

 Certain forms of friendships may differ between individuals. Some may use the term “friend” loosely and may call others that they associate with every now and then a friend. On the other hand, some may feel that the term “friend” is much deeper than just any acquaintance or person they see once in a while. Throughout the years, friendship has evolved and changed, especially through social networking sites. Many have formed expectations of how friendships should be through social media. Individuals have developed deeper or new friendships through social networking sites as well.

Bloor brings up a very interesting point about how friendship has recently been evolving more through the use of social networking sites as opposed to meeting face to face. Bloor emphasizes this idea perfectly when he talks about Facebook being a pivotal and center aspect in many individuals’ lives when it comes to friendships or connections. He continues to explain that we, as humans are very trusting of Facebook and we incorporate it into our lives daily. This can easily be seen with many vegan influencers like @rawalignment and @fullyrawkristina. They are constantly posting on their Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube account or replying back to comments. This could easily be seen as forming friendships and connections simply based off “liking” or commenting back to someone on a photo. However, this sparks up this topic of “faux friendships”. It’s simple to dismiss traditional interactions with friends because of the impact that social media may have on an individual’s life.  Deresiewicz addresses this in his article when he mentions that friendship has almost lost its meaning due to social media and technology in general. It seems to almost be impersonal and devolving into forced and meaningless connections through a screen. However, despite the fact that Deresiewicz does not have the best point of view about forming friendships through social networking sites, he does believe that there are benefits.  

Furthermore, there is no denying that social media networks such as Facebook have the capability to connect individuals together in certain situations. There are cases where some friendships may have never happened if it was not for Facebook. Bloor himself specifically mentions that Facebook has the ability to connect individuals with similarities and to reunite individuals with those they may have not seen in a while. For example, this can be seen in @ellenfishers Instagram post on thanksgiving with a group that she has made close ties with and considers them to be her best friends. She’s standing next to a group of vegan mothers that she met through an Instagram group chat. These interactions on Instagram have formed long term friendships and connections. This is a relevant example of what Bloor is saying about common connections being made through social networking sites. Bloor’s points are relatively valid in this aspect because many vegan influencers meet each other on social media through their similarities. On the other hand, it’s interesting that he also highlights that even though Facebook may be beneficial, there could still be concerns about it as well. It deals with this idea of authenticity and how social networking sites may affect how interactions happen in person. They could also affect how someone may appear through their social media account as opposed to real life. For example, influencers in the vegan community may present themselves in a specific way for the comments, likes, or to simply gain followers and attention. whether they are or are not the way they are presenting themselves, no one would really know unless connections were being made face to face. In regards to this, it can be very questionable if an individual is as authentic as they present themselves through their Instagram or Facebook.

Overall, I believe that there are definitely benefits to developing friendships through social networking sites, but there are also detrimental aspects. Meeting someone through a social networking site can open up doors for connections between individuals who share similarities. In contrast, it may also create toxicity or put a strain on face to face interactions. It can easily become addicting as well which is often the highest concern when it comes to forming friendships online. However, putting this into perspective, it can also depend on the individual as well.

[batfreakinthoughts]

Family Matters

photo source: George Tapan- Philippine News

Filipinos highly value the presence of their families more than anything.  This trait clearly shows among Filipinos abroad who suffer homesickness and tough work just to support their families back in the Philippines. Because of this remarkable closeness, parents  have difficulties letting go of their children and results to having them stay for as long as they want. For this somehow explains why grandparents are commonly seen living with their children in the Philippines. Unlike  in the west where elderly people are provided with outside homes and care giving, Filipino elderly enjoy the rest of their lives inside their houses with their children and grandchildren looking after them. Its somewhat like we are paying back the love and care they showed and gave us when we were younger. In Filipino household family really matters first! 

[irismeowlove]

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Louie does so well, having an older brother to care for him. He's no longer so shy and purrs loudly when you cuddle him in your arms. #cat #cats #closeties #fostersiblings #catslover #catsofinstagram #neko #felines #omgsocute #adorable #sosweet #aww #adoptdontshop #adoptdontbuy #luvkuching