ews & features roses THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2011 2 LEAH GOEBEL photo Facebook provides another way to so- cialize but it undermines real human connection, says Langara sociology instructor Sandra Enns. Lots of friends online doe not mean many in reality A new study found that online friends do not equate to real life friendship By JENNIFER FONG ost people have hundreds of friends on Facebook but out- side of the virtual world only two are real friends, says a Cornell University study. Of the 2,000 people surveyed about their social habits, the majority had be- tween one and two real friends with whom they discussed “important mat- ters.” The study found people had an aver- age of 2.03 close friends, which is one friend less than 20 years ago. “There’s no possible way you can be friends with 600 people. You might know them, but you’re not friends with them,” said Sandra Enns, sociology in- structor at Langara. “Realistically, It’s not possible to maintain that many re- lationships.” Enns said that people could only maintain between four and six close re- lationships at a time. She doesn’t believe that Facebook is responsible for the decline in confi- dants, but she does see the site as a “symptom of modern times.” “Tt’s just another way of speed relat- ing, which isn’t really relating at all,” she said. “People are replacing real hu- man connection with technology.” “It’s an illusion,” she added. “It al- lows us to essentially create an impres- sion of ourselves that we control.” Psychology student Sara Ahmadian agrees with the study’s findings. “I used to have a Facebook with over 100 people, and only one of them was a real friend,” she said. Now Ahmadian has 40 Facebook friends, five of whom she is close with. “T have friends who know me so well, they probably know what I’m wearing at the moment.” Ahmadian will only add people she already knows well, or is interested in knowing better. “T honestly think it’s a popularity contest,” she said about those who add a plethora of friends on Facebook. University transfer student Yasmine Ekoka thinks that the study “could be true,” but the numbers are probably higher. She has 102 Facebook friends, 10 to 15 whom she considers close friends. “Your real friends, you keep them on Facebook, but you also have their e- mail, phone number, etcetera." said Ekoka. She does not feel that Facebook is part of the problem. "It's just an easier way to bring peo- ple together." There’s no pos- sible way you can be friends with 600 people. You might know them, but yow’re not friends with them. SANDRA ENNS Sociology instructor Some Greeks consider moving to Canada The Greek economy is making life extremely difficult for most of the population, with 40 per cent of young Greeks out of work, says a Langara instructor of Greek descent who keeps in touch with family EFFIE KLEIN Journalism in- structor who has family in Greece suffering through the economic crisis. By JEN ST. DENIS tives in Greece are concerned that the economic situation will get much worse before it gets better. Peter Prontzos, who teaches political science at Langara, travels to Greece every year. He has seen his Greek rela- tives having to cope with pay cuts and increased taxes. “My cousin Maria ... she’s a high school teacher and she was only mak- ing around 2,000 euros [a month] a couple of years ago, then in the first round of the cuts they cut it down to 1,600 [euros a month],” said Prontzos. “And they have to pay European prices because they’re using the euro, so it’s at least as expensive as it is here.” Prontzos said that the unemploy- Ti: Langara instructors with rela- ment rate is predicted to hit 20 per cent by the end of this year. The rate is even higher for young people: 40 per cent of them are out of work. “Now there’s no jobs, so [young peo- ple] are moving to other parts of Eu- rope or North America or Australia, because there’s no future in Greece,” said Prontzos. Journalism instructor Effie Klein also has family in Greece. Her relatives may be among those leaving the coun- try. “My brother’s sister-in-law and [her husband] ... own a restaurant in Ath- ens and they’re considering moving back to Canada,” said Klein. The res- taurant hasn’t lost a lot of business so far. But the ongoing financial uncer- tainty is a concern, especially as the couple has two school-aged children. The situation is worse for elderly people in Greece whose children and grandchildren may have already emi- grated, said Klein. “A lot of them have inherited their home from their parents, are living in it, and perhaps own a goat and a few chickens and have their own little gar- den ... they just barely make the money they need to survive,” said Klein. “To add the property tax on top of what they already earn ... that’s huge for people.” There is a real threat the situation may turn violent if people continue to be financially squeezed. “The government should be con- cerned right now about how far they push these people,” said Klein. “Be- cause you cannot get money from peo- ple who do not have the money.” Italians angry with tax evasion Tax evasion, currency inflation, and political corruption are to blame for the current Italian economic crisis, accord- ing to two Italian Langara instructors. By PATRICK JOHNSTON the Italian economic crisis, say Langara instructors Andrew Mosi and Sal Albanese, who are both of Ital- ian descent. “My relatives complain that people are not paying their fair share,” Mosi said. Mosi, head of the chemistry depart- ment, moved to Canada as a child in 1978. He said that despite a tradition of frequent elections and coalition gov- ernments that might suggest a strong democracy, Italians still lack trust in their public institutions. Tax evasion is a problem that runs across all of Italian society, sociology instructor Sal Albanese agreed. The Italian political system has been broken since the country’s foundation, as governments keep power through the support of regionally-focused polit- ical parties, he said. Former prime minister Silvio Berlus- coni, who resigned on Nov. 12, had the support of politicians from the south of the country who were easy to buy, ac- cording to Albanese. Mosi said his Italian relatives were “quite relieved that Berlusconi is out of the picture.” There were celebrations in the streets of Rome the day he re- signed. The majority of Italians support the new government of Mario Monti, who is expected to make much-needed changes to the pension and taxation system, said Albanese. This is good news for Mosi’s mother, who lives in Victoria. She has an Italian pension as a source of income, which is affected by the weak economy. “The economic problems began with the introduction of the euro,” Albanese continued. Shopkeepers didn’t keep to the offi- cial exchange rate on prices, which was 1,900 lira to one euro. Instead they used 1,000 lira to one euro as a baseline, be- cause the 1,000 lira note was the most commonly used bill. Prices doubled as a result. Since the Second World War, no gov- ernment has wanted to be seen as “cut- ting back,” Albanese said. The econom- ic crises of 1980 and 1992 to 1993 were solved by “technocrats” who were elected to push through economic and fiscal reforms. Monti, an economist, is one of these technocrats, he said. The problem in Italy is one of liquid- ity not solvency, the opposite of Greece’s. Italians have private money which could re-pay debts, but corrup- tion keeps it from flowing, he said. Albanese will be watching the eco- nomic developments closely. “Thave a passion for whether Europe can be integrated into a federal state,” he said. “Most Europeans with any kind of an appreciation of history is in favour of European integration.” Rie isis to pay taxes is driving