Towards a generational transformation of the role and meaning of friendship
(2021) SOCM04 20202Sociology
Department of Sociology
- Abstract
- The thesis sets out to explore the role and meaning of friendships across two age
groups. This is attained by a generational interview design where the groups are separated by nearly 20 years. The thesis is motivated by an alleged seismic shift towards the importance of friendships as the nuclear family imagery is on a purported decline in ‘contemporary society’ as suggested by the academic literature presented in this thesis. The research is based on 14 in-depth interviews divided into two age groups. The respondents live in and around Copenhagen. The research employed the free association narrative interview method to examine practices and ideals of the friendship imagery. The thesis generates epistemological conceptualizations of the... (More) - The thesis sets out to explore the role and meaning of friendships across two age
groups. This is attained by a generational interview design where the groups are separated by nearly 20 years. The thesis is motivated by an alleged seismic shift towards the importance of friendships as the nuclear family imagery is on a purported decline in ‘contemporary society’ as suggested by the academic literature presented in this thesis. The research is based on 14 in-depth interviews divided into two age groups. The respondents live in and around Copenhagen. The research employed the free association narrative interview method to examine practices and ideals of the friendship imagery. The thesis generates epistemological conceptualizations of the roles and meanings of friendships by employing a bottom-up approach in which the respondents explore their own meaning-frame. This is done in addition to a top-down approach where the thesis operationalizes the concepts of intimacy and care in relation to friendships. The results showed an increased appraisal of friends as essential to people’s lives similar to that of partners and family. This was conceptualized as ‘life witnesses’. The younger age group was highly emotionally dependent on their friends, whereas the elder sample group showed greater diversity with both traditional heteronormative leanings, as well as more progressive social leanings. The thesis points towards the importance of considering friends as essential sources of intimacy and care. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- "It is as if something is happening in the landscape of love, a landslide or a seismic shift," wrote the Danish science journalist, Lone Frank, in a feature in Weekendavisen (Danish newspaper). The seismic shift she refers to concerns how we are gradually starting to move away from good old (heterosexual) romantic love, as we know it from popular culture represented by Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Titanic, to love between friends and love between family members. This also resonates within the world of science, where academic literature on friendships is a growing field of knowledge within sociology. Scholars believe that the framework around the traditional romantic relationship with the nuclear family as the ideal is no longer enough... (More)
- "It is as if something is happening in the landscape of love, a landslide or a seismic shift," wrote the Danish science journalist, Lone Frank, in a feature in Weekendavisen (Danish newspaper). The seismic shift she refers to concerns how we are gradually starting to move away from good old (heterosexual) romantic love, as we know it from popular culture represented by Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Titanic, to love between friends and love between family members. This also resonates within the world of science, where academic literature on friendships is a growing field of knowledge within sociology. Scholars believe that the framework around the traditional romantic relationship with the nuclear family as the ideal is no longer enough to understand the many ways in which the modern human arranges their social lives. In a world of constant change, it is important to anchor oneself. As divorce rates rise and people tend to settle geographically further away from their families, it naturally brings the mind to friendships as essential anchors. This, I have investigated in my thesis. I have committed an interview design based on two age groups in order to represent a generational divide. I carried out 14 in-depth interviews with people from Copenhagen. The idea was to investigate whether it is possible to see a difference in the paradigms of friendship across the two generations. This prompted the research question: “is there a generational transformation of the role and meaning of friendship?”. The research question allowed an examination of both the actual practices of friendships, as well as the underlying ideas pertaining to the very structure of friendships accessible to people. The results showed a clear trend among my sample groups: the younger generation was emotionally invested in their friendships, and used them to "document" their development in life emotionally and practically. This phenomenon of anchoring oneself or documenting one’s trajectory through their social interactions was conceptualized as “life witnesses”. For the purpose of emotional reliance, the older generation made greater use of their romantic partners. The younger generation associated friendship with intimacy and care, which to them meant being able to be emotionally vulnerable around their friends, checking in with one another, and to disclose intimate matters. Practices of emotional intimacy and care amongst friends were also present in the older generation, but to a lesser extent. The overall trend showed changes in social processes regarding friendships towards increased appraisal of friends similar to that of partners and family. While the results cannot be generalized across the Danish population, the discrepancies between the two groups showed some significance, and it suggests a tendency of a transformation of the meaning and role played by friends. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9039141
- author
- Kirketorp, Julie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOCM04 20202
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Friendships, individualization, biographical narrative, identity, life witnesses, intimacy, and care.
- language
- English
- id
- 9039141
- date added to LUP
- 2021-02-02 12:14:06
- date last changed
- 2021-02-02 12:14:06
@misc{9039141,
abstract = {{The thesis sets out to explore the role and meaning of friendships across two age
groups. This is attained by a generational interview design where the groups are separated by nearly 20 years. The thesis is motivated by an alleged seismic shift towards the importance of friendships as the nuclear family imagery is on a purported decline in ‘contemporary society’ as suggested by the academic literature presented in this thesis. The research is based on 14 in-depth interviews divided into two age groups. The respondents live in and around Copenhagen. The research employed the free association narrative interview method to examine practices and ideals of the friendship imagery. The thesis generates epistemological conceptualizations of the roles and meanings of friendships by employing a bottom-up approach in which the respondents explore their own meaning-frame. This is done in addition to a top-down approach where the thesis operationalizes the concepts of intimacy and care in relation to friendships. The results showed an increased appraisal of friends as essential to people’s lives similar to that of partners and family. This was conceptualized as ‘life witnesses’. The younger age group was highly emotionally dependent on their friends, whereas the elder sample group showed greater diversity with both traditional heteronormative leanings, as well as more progressive social leanings. The thesis points towards the importance of considering friends as essential sources of intimacy and care.}},
author = {{Kirketorp, Julie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Towards a generational transformation of the role and meaning of friendship}},
year = {{2021}},
}