The Vexing Problem of the ‘Medium Friend’
It’s traumatizing to think that a best friend could become just a friend. That’s because there is virtually no difference between an acquaintance and a friend. But the gulf between a friend and a best friend is enormous and profound.
Mindy Kaling • Why Not Me?
Thomas Fudge’s: typically, people indicated that only 16–20 per cent of the friends listed on their Facebook page could be considered real friends.
Robin Dunbar • Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships
5-layer corresponded to people that we contact at least once a week and feel very emotionally close to, the 15-layer to people contacted at least once a month but felt a little less close to, the 50-layer to those contacted at least once every six months, and the 150-layer to those we make an effort to contact at least once a year and feel least cl
... See moreRobin Dunbar • Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships
it becomes tougher to meet the three conditions that sociologists since the 1950s have considered crucial to making close friends: proximity; repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and confide in each other, said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology and gerontology at the University of N... See more