Transformation of the Phenomenon of Friendship Through the Prism of Network Technologies

The article attempts to determine and clarify the concept of ‘friendship’. In particular, it focuses on the prime aspects of the concept and their transformations due to the usage of modern network technologies. The research is based on the semantic analysis of friendship's biological, ontological-axiological, and social aspects. It argues that the integrative function of friendship, which determines its biological aspect, enhances the network contributing to more effective solutions to people’s problems. The ontological-axiological aspect reveals selectivity and fragmentation in manifesting the concept under analysis. The social aspect shows formal and superficial features of friendship in the network. It is stated that the network reduces the prime ontological status of friendship, resulting in changes in a person's biological, moral and social principles.