Lily M. Cooper
Friendship is an intimate relationship of mutual caring between individuals. It’s a stronger form of personal relationship than an emotional affiliation and is often studied in academia including communication, psychology, sociology, political science, and anthropology. According to the Companion to Personality Theory, it can be defined as a connection based on self-esteem, in which two people share the same feelings with others.
In an earlier definition, by Mark Gridley, friendship was defined as a “long-term intimate relationship that relies on friendship as a source of support.”
There are many definitions of friendship; Some psychologists define true friendship as a “close bonding of two people,” and in essence this definition includes a variety of related behaviors. According to Dr. Patrick O’Rourke, a psychologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, “A true friend is someone who is loyal, caring, supportive and responsive.” Someone who is a true friend is someone who will listen to you when you’re sad, but won’t sit idly by while you complain.
On the other hand; the concept of real friendship is rather more difficult to define because it requires a whole bunch of different behaviors. Most definitions of true friendship assume that the individuals involved display some degree of reciprocal caring and concern for each other. True friendship requires that both people help and support each other, and that they do things for each other that they would be able to do for themselves. True friends are also open about their needs and wants, are considerate and sympathetic, and are generally happy with their companionship.
- However, psychologists and sociologists have learned that there are other important characteristics to identify good friendships.
- Insecure or lonely people are less likely to be as well-connected as others who are more connected but who aren’t feeling lonely.
- When you have a good friend in your life, you’re much more likely to hang out with them and share experiences and adventures with them, because you feel safer having them around.
- And if your friend has recently experienced a breakup, or is having problems within their relationship, you may be very eager to hang out with them.
- You hang out because it’s fun and it makes you feel better about yourself; it’s not because you’re desperately seeking connection.
It’s also important to note that not all relationships can be considered “friendships,” even between friends. The most common types of relationships in the United States include dating relationships (which may not end up being a long term relationship), housemates, college or university friends, work friends, online friends, and even work colleagues.
The most common places where people meet for multiple reasons – such as a dinner in a restaurant, an online chat session, a walk in a park, or a movie at the theater – tend to become more casual over time, resulting in what is called “deglazing.” The phrase declaring comes from the fact that many of these casual relationships can be more interesting than friendships. A casual acquaintance who spends time in a bar with a friend once or twice weekly can quickly develop into a weekly date, whereas a person who spends time in a chat forum once or twice weekly may never have another meaningful interaction with that same person during that period of time.
If you’re hoping to find true friendship or a lasting relationship, then you need to make sure that you take steps to ensure that you don’t leave any loose ends. The biggest reason why a friendship can fizzle out is if one or both of the participants abandon the relationship. This means that you need to make sure that you always make time for true friends. If you do that, then you have a much better chance of making a true friend out of yourself.
