Adult Friendships - Part 1: Adult Friendships are Vital

We often fail to put enough emphasis on the important things in life.

And friendships are one of those things.

Research indicates Americans are not making the time for friends like we used to.

According to a survey taken in the 1990, 33 percent of Americans reported have 10 or more close friends. Thirty years later, the study revealed that only 13 percent claimed to have 10 or more close friends. And more than one in 10 Americans claimed to have no friends at all.

Why is it so many of us don’t nurture adult friendships? Could it be we have the idea they’re really not necessary? Or we view digital connections as friendships? Or we claim we’re just too busy? Whatever the reasons for the decline in adult friendships, we should pause to consider these . . .

Five reasons why adult friends are vital to your life and your good health.

Friends Provide Necessary Support
We’re not meant to go it alone. We need friends to act as everything from cheerleaders for us to shoulders to cry on.

Friends Teach Us How to Behave
How do we conduct ourselves? If you’re socially awkward, it might be because no modeled specific social skills critical to success. Friends are where we learn those skills. With friends, we can discover what’s acceptable and what’s not.

Friends Deliver Reality Checks
Who else but a friend is going to tell you when you’re lying to yourself or wandering down a dangerous path? This kind of tough love is what keeps us from disaster and guides us away from the pitfalls of life.

Couple Friends Guide Our Own Relationships
Not everyone was blessed with parents who modeled good relationship skills. Having “couple friends” in healthy relationships is where we can discover insights about how couples in romantic relationships interact. These relationships can also teach us how to balance things like work, romance and parenting

Friends are Good for Our Health
Studies show that people who sustain healthy friendships live longer and enjoy a better quality of life. People who regularly spend time with friends are shown to adopt healthier lifestyles, experience fewer physical ailments such as heart disease, and have fewer issues with dementia as they age.

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Adult friendships are vital for your life. Making and nurturing adult friendships should be a priority. In Part 2 of this series we’ll look at tips for making friends as adults.

Resources
The state of American Friendship: Change, challenges, and loss
Psychological Benefits of Friendships
The More Friends You Have, the Longer You’re Likely to Live

Image by Joseph Redfield Nino from Pixabay