While hand-writing a letter to a friend deployed in Afghanistan and simultaneously instant-messaging a friend in Indonesia, photographer, Tanya Hollander was found wondering: Am I really friends with all the people I am connected to on Facebook? It’s a fair question, out of my 1,395 friends only a small fraction are true ride or dies—shout out to the homies, you know who you are. According to Uproxx, on New Year’s Eve 2010, Hollander began her 5-year-mission to not only photograph but spend valuable time with each of her 626 Facebook friends. Talk about a labor of love, I’m lucky if I find time to call my mom once a week, nevermind travel the world to see my social media acquaintances.
You can see more of this series and other work by Hollander here.
12 countries, 34 states, and 400 homes later, Hollander’s dedication resulted in a breathtaking photo series she titled, “Are You Really My Friend?” The collection of IRL “profile pictures” Hollander created brings personality and authenticity to the faces she connects with on Facebook — perfectly telling their story with each portrait.
After dedicating 5 years of her life to pursuing friendships, Hollander summed up her thoughts in just a few sentences. She told Uproxx:
I learned that people come in and out of your life at different times for different reasons. There is value in relationships that are fleeting and are ephemeral. I have friends that will go see music with me but won’t go see art with me. That doesn’t mean our friendships are less real. And as we get older and have kids and families and relationships, things will change and continue to change. That doesn’t mean our friendships weren’t meaningful at the time.
And as for Facebook, Hollander believes that the social media monster hasn’t ruined the legitimacy of friendship. She told Uproxx:
There isn’t a difference between online friendships and offline friendships. It’s something that weaves in and out of everything we do, from work to friendship — everything, literally. There are some people that I see in person more often than friends that exist only online, but that doesn’t mean I’m closer to the people I see every day. Social media is just a different way of communicating.
You can see more of this series and other work by Hollander here.
