FRIENDSHIP ≠ POPULARITY, research project, 2018, Varaždin (Špancirfest)

The work "FRIENDSHIP ≠ POPULARITY" is a research project that was created during the ten days of Špancirfest in Varaždin. I specifically chose that festival for the realization of this work because of the wider and different audience. I used medium paper and black, red, blue and green markers for my work. Each person could choose one better and one color and fill in all three columns numerically. Each column is additionally divided into three columns, where one field is like one answer. The questions are: how many friends do you have on Facebook, followers on Instagram and real friends? About 240 people participated in this project.

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Many of them who passed through the street were afraid of the board, they were even afraid to fill out the fields anonymously, especially if they reached the column of true friends. . Then their eyes became surprised and thoughtful. Some of them gave up and left, but they left with a question. Some just wrote a number and left, and there were also those who stood in front of the board for 10 or even 20 minutes thinking, after which they wrote the number. The goal of this work is not numbers. They are only a means, and the goal is to try to achieve honesty towards oneself. With this work, I want a reaction that is not only numerical, but happens inside us.

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Are social networks changing us? Yes, definitely. Whether external influences; society, politics, television influence us? Of course. Everything affects us, but how much and in which direction we have to decide for ourselves. Je is popularity, which results in a greater number of likes and "friendships" or honest happiness, more important to us?

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