Mediating Close Friendship Intimacy in Times of (Social) Distance

Abstract

This article presents mediated intimacy in friendships as a necessary but difficult course of action to bridge physical absence between close friends. Following migration research to picture the mediation of intimacy of transnational family members, differences regarding the communicative behaviour, and specifically, the obligation to communicate contrasts distant friendships with translocal family interactions. Drawing on a German study on friendship communication, this paper asks the question how to derivate measures for profound friendship exchange in social distance, with regard to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Findings reveal communication media are definitely useful to keep up existing friendships but they also prevent meaningful friendship interaction. Accordingly, this paper contributes to the discussion of mediated communication and the production of mediated intimacy in friendships and highlights potential prospects to enhance physically distanced friendships.