International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Friendship refers to a broad category of interpersonal relationships communicatively accomplished with peers and characterized by voluntary, reciprocated, nonromantic affection and good will. These relationships range in depth and duration from superficial, transitory bonds developed from situational associations, such as residential, educational, or workplace proximity, to profoundly dedicated lifelong attachments spanning time and distance. Friendships involve five characteristics to varying degrees, depending on social and cultural circumstances, interaction patterns, and individuals’ inclinations. First, communicating as friends is voluntary; persons choose to view and treat other persons as friends (→  Friendship and Communication ). While social stratifications dictate opportunities to interact, persons elect to communicate and experience another's behaviors as friendship. This feature contrasts with the blood bonds of kinship, contractual and economically determined associations such as labor relations or partnerships, and religiously and legally sanctioned bonds such as marriage. These relationships occupy social categories with requirements transcending individuals’ preferences. In contrast, friendships persist to the extent that friends fulfill each other's particularized expectations for interactions and may be unilaterally dissolved. Second, friendship is a personal ... log in or subscribe to read full text