I disagree with a lot the points in your article. The things you listed as cons with having office "friends" all sound like things no real "friend" would do. I don't generally use social media, so maybe I don't understand that aspect, but honestly if someone came to work and gossiped about me, they wouldn't be considered a friend. This article seems to specifically mean Facebook friends so I guess my opinion isn't super relevant as I don't use Facebook.