Like much of what I’m likely to post here in the future, I don’t have an answer on this one.  I thought I used to, but not so sure anymore.

How do kids, who are active online communicators, define a “friend”?  What do they look for in a “friend”?

I just “invited” Dave to be my “friend” at the Ning social network “Technology in Lutheran Schools.” What did I just do?  Why did I send an invitation to Dave and not to XXXXX? What message, intentionally or not, did that invitation send to Dave?  What do I expect from Dave in return?  My list of questions goes on and on.

I know which generation I’m from because I am the one who is asking what a friend is because I know it’s not what it used to be.  For kids, they know because, for many today, it’s all they’ve known.

Thus, one more question: What do today’s youth need to know about what friendship has always meant (and will always mean) to me?