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What is the importance of having friends?

The different reasons why having the friendship of others is essential

By Nouman ul haqPublished 2 years ago 6 min read
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What is the importance of having friends?
Photo by Mark McGregor on Unsplash

The companies around us can determine a lot about who we are. Good friends are always there, whether it's motivating us, encouraging us to be the best version of ourselves, or supporting us unconditionally.

Friendship is an essential relational aspect, surely one of the main foundations of societies, along with the family and the couple. Friends can be such a great source of confidence, well-being and security that it determines our personality.

Next we are going to delve into the subject of the importance of having friends, its benefits and how it develops throughout life .

The importance of having friends: its different advantages

From very young to when we are older, friends are a fundamental part of our lives. Placing trust in other people constitutes the social fabric, since if we could not do it, society, as we know it today, could not be possible.

Regardless of its importance at a social level, the truth is that forming friendships with other people is very beneficial for our mental health . For this reason, the importance of having friends is so great.

We understand friendship to be the close bond that forms between two or more people. This type of relationship must have as essential aspects trust, affection, loyalty, sympathy and respect , shown by the members of the bond in a reciprocal way.

Friendship is one of the most significant affective relationships that can be had, along with family and partner relationships, which brings many benefits on a psychological level.

benefits of friendship

Human beings are social animals. When we are born we need the care and affective contact of other people in order to develop well .

As we grow and gain a little more independence to interact freely, we join different groups, choosing the people with whom we want to spend free time.

Emotional well-being, self-esteem and self-concept

Having friends makes us feel integrated into these groups, in addition to providing us with great emotional value. By being part of our closest social environment, we have the benefits of an increase in self-esteem and motivation .

Real friends are those people to whom we can tell intimate and private information, trusting that they will not reveal it to third parties and will listen to us unconditionally. By sharing this information with them we relieve a little stress and emotional discomfort, giving us a little calm and peace of mind.

The simple fact of being listened to, understood and loved usually acts as a good calming agent on an emotional level . It is clear that having a friend can give us a lot of emotional well-being, especially when the origin of the discomfort is in other intimate and supposedly "safe" relationships, as would be the case with the family or the couple.

In the opposite sense, seeing that there are people who trust us with their insecurities, concerns, discomforts and negative emotions makes us feel valued, understanding that we can become a source of support for others. In this way, our self-concept improves, as long as it is a functional friendship relationship , without toxicities, betrayals or "bad vibes".

You may be interested: "How to mediate a conflict between friends: 10 useful tips"

overcome difficult situations

Placing trust in a friend has a very important therapeutic component, since it helps us overcome moments of great difficulty such as a duel, a breakup, unemployment or any other complicated situation .

Being a better version of ourselves

Another benefit of having friends is that they can give us a little push to leave vices behind or motivate us to start a great project. On many occasions, it is the friends who motivate by giving up unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking or having a sedentary life.

Good friends care about the health of their friends. Thanks to this, they can positively influence our decision-making , making us more responsible and healthy or becoming more aware of our problems if they exist. They make us a better version of ourselves.

It should also be said that friendship can be a double-edged sword, since they can make us make more risky decisions or, due to social pressure, we acquire bad habits, something especially visible in adolescence and drug use.

unconditional acceptance

The feeling of unconditional acceptance generates well-being. Being able to be oneself and see that others accept us generates a great feeling of security and appreciation. A true friend accepts us regardless of our personality or personal characteristics , making us not have to pretend to be who we are not.

If we pretend to be who we are not, we can suffer a very intense crisis of identity and self-esteem, which will cause serious psychological damage.

friendship throughout life

Friendships are important at all stages of life, not just in childhood and adolescence. As adults, both when you are young and when you are no longer, friendships can be a fundamental emotional support. Next we are going to reflect on the importance of friendship throughout life.

Childhood

From a very young age, children form their first friendships . Already in the nursery and, above all, in school, you can see how children relate to others and, on many occasions, create bonds that will last a lifetime. They will also bond with other children in the park, children of their parents' friends or neighbors.

It is very important that children choose their friends and learn to bond with other people more or less freely. It often happens that parents select their children's friends, either because they believe they can be a good influence or because they are the children of reliable friends and acquaintances. It is not bad to introduce children to new children, but it is very important not to separate them from those friends they have already made .

Likewise, it is very important to detect situations in which the child may be having a bad time due to certain relationships, either due to bullying or because they are bad influences, which cause them to stray from their studies and have difficulties.

Adolescence

Adolescence is a critical period , and all parents know it because before they were adults they had to go through it. Hormonal changes, conflicts with the main attachment figures are experienced, abstract thought is reached (Piaget's formal operational thought) and the first love relationships arise.

There is an authentic identity crisis that if it is mishandled will have consequences in adulthood . Relationships with friends become very important and very intense friendships are formed, which can influence the still malleable personality of the individual and can lead to success or failure.

In this period a friend can make us choose a course wisely, start high school or study for next week's exam. But it can also influence us to try marijuana, drink alcohol, or skip classes.

Adulthood and old age

When you reach young adulthood you still have a bit of an identity crisis, but not as intense anymore.

Similarly, friends are still very important, because it is in these years that we try to gain more independence, looking for a flat, starting higher education , starting to work... These are times of economic and vital insecurity that, spending them with friends makes the difficulty don't look so serious.

As friendships grow, they are reduced to a select group of people with whom we trust a lot. Likewise, you can have new friendships throughout your life, some even in such advanced stages as old age. You are never too old to meet someone with whom we share a lot and with whom we can establish a very beautiful friendship .

conclusion

The importance of having friends is very significant, since it not only influences how we relate to others, integrating us with society, but it also gives us emotional well-being, increases self-esteem and self-concept and can allow us to relieve negative emotions that, for other non-professional ways we could not.

Friendships are especially important in childhood and adolescence, although in adulthood they can play a very important role in our personal success.

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Nouman ul haq

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