7 Science-Backed Reasons Why Friends are Important
Whether you dream of finding the Oprah Winfrey to your Gayle King or crave a hilarious circle of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., friendship is the zest of life. Good friends bring laughter and joy to daily activities and support you during hard times.
Friendships enrich our lives on every level, contributing to our self-esteem, happiness, and a sense of purpose.
Friends are important. So important that the quality of your friendships can determine your physical health, your financial fortitude, and even how long you live.
How Many Friends Should I Have?
According to research, the average person has 3 to 5 very close friends, 10 to 15 people in their circle, and 100 to 150 acquaintances in their social network. Naturally, these numbers can vary widely based on your personality, career, location, and social skills.
It’s a common misconception that you need to have tons of friends to be happy, but studies have revealed that it isn’t the number of friends, but the quality of friends, that leads to true happiness. Close friends and “best” friends are far more likely to yield real social fulfillment than a bunch of casual connections.
This even holds true in the celebrity world, where one would imagine that famous people have loads of friends… Nope!
Oprah Winfrey openly shares that she has only 3 close friends.
Instagram star and singer Selena Gomez says the same: she only has 3 good friends she feels she can tell everything to.
Actor Matthew McConaughey says, “I’ve got only a few really close friends in the 28 years of acting that I keep up with all the time.”
Nearly half of the American population reports an average of 3 close friends. About a third of people report having 4 to 9 close friends. The other proportions include people with 10 or more close friends (about 13%) and those who report no close friends at all (12%).
Oxford anthropologist Robin Dunbar calculated that you could only maintain a social network of 150 to 200 people, most of which are casual acquaintances. Most people have a smaller group of about 15 friends that they can confide in. And Dunbar estimates that we only realistically keep an inner core circle of 5 or fewer friends and family members.
Yet, despite all the social media and illusions of online connection, true friendship seems more challenging to find these days. Compared to 1990, Americans are becoming more socially isolated over time.
The number of close friendships Americans have is declining. And a bunch of surface-level acquaintances just don’t cut it for fulfilling our social bonding needs. Even if you know many people, maintaining a handful of close quality friendships could be the key to true social connectedness.
No matter the number, having friends can benefit your life in truly incredible ways.
7 Science-Backed Benefits of Having Friends
It can be hard to pinpoint the exact feeling of “belonging” or “companionship.” Still, scientists have uncovered an abundance of ways in which friendships benefit our lives.
Quality Friends Make You Physically Healthier
Friendships improve your health on nearly every level.
In fact, research shows that they are just as important as diet and exercise.
Physically, social connection is linked to lower blood pressure, lower B.M.I., less inflammation, and a reduced risk of diabetes across all age groups.
But it’s important to remember that this only applies to quality friendships with people who inspire you to become a better version of yourself.
A quality friend can have these traits:
Is kind and compassionate
Accepts you for who you are
Values your time
Respects your boundaries
Supports you during hard times
Is fun to be around
Is honest and trustworthy
Encourages you to grow and improve
Inspires and uplifts you
Toxic friendships can have the opposite effect. Because you are more likely to adopt the habits of your peers, unhealthy or mentally ill friends can negatively impact your health.
The risk for depression, suicide, obesity, smoking, and substance abuse drastically increases when people spend time around friends who are depressed/suicidal, overweight, smokers, or abuse substances.
Surprising? Probably not.
Star-geeker Community Member 
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