Do the different uses of Facebook change the relationships of people in their forties, and if so, how? This is the issue of this article, which is based on a qualitative survey of individuals aged 37 to 43. This digital social network modifies some facets of sociability, and these should be stressed. Facebook can give rise to some contacts but also prevent others from disappearing. The intensity of shared information highlights the resource function of the ties and contributes to configuring a kind of personal magazine. Furthermore, the tool’s functionalities contribute to form a set of very weak ties. But what’s happening on Facebook is, in general, much more deeply rooted in social contexts than is usually imagined.
Keywords
- Social networks
- friend
- weak ties
- relations