I might not be alone in thinking that Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have distorted the notion of a friend and what really does it mean to be a friend. I have never been the one to put a lot in “friends” on social networks, though I have met many interesting people online who have now become friends — best friends even. Today, I saw a tweet thread by William Shatner, well known for his portrayal of Captain Kirk in the StarTrek series, a good reminder of who and what is a friend. Shatner was talking about his friend and well-known actor Christopher Plummer, who recently passed away. From the tweet storm:

What is the definition of a friend? Somebody you know intimately whose every breath and every thought that is so much like yours or can a friend be someone whose life is intertwined near and afar with great gaps of time between meetings?

William Shatner on Twitter

I am fortunate, that I have quite a few that qualify.