Making friends with Aussie locals is not too hard, so be brave and have a go. Making friends with people from another country sometimes might not feel easy sometimes. After all, Australia has a different culture to many countries, and even if you speak English, Australia has its own dialect or slang.
Australians are very friendly and easy-going people. In fact, Australians are renowned for their laid-back nature and unique sense of humour. Another thing Australians are known for is their love of sport, recreation and the great outdoors.
“It is very common to experience a lack of friendships. Many people feel like they do not have friends or that others do not understand them,” says Jessica Ermilio, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at Humantold. According to Ermilio, there are many reasons why someone might struggle to make friends.
But just because it's difficult to make friends after 30 doesn't mean it's impossible. While one 2020 study found that more than 3 in 5 Americans consider themselves lonely, citing a lack of social support and meaningful interactions as the main cause, it certainly doesn't have to be that way.
Studies have shown that, when people reach their 30's, they start to value quality friendships over quantity. Once their social circles dwindle, people settle for fewer friendships. As an outsider to those social circles, you may find it more intimidating to “break in” to an already established social circle.
The reason you have no friends may be because you are shy, uncomfortable interacting with others, or simply don't go places that would lead to meeting new people. You don't have friends may have a lot to do with your mindset.
Being socially isolated is terribly unhealthy. Studies since the 1980s have shown that if you haven't got friends, family or community ties, your chance of dying early may be 50% higher than if you did. Social isolation is now being touted as similarly detrimental to health as smoking or not taking exercise.
It is considered impolite to ask a direct question about a person's salary or wealth. Inquiring about someone's weight or age is also highly inappropriate in many situations. Spitting in public is rude. If there is a line for something, always queue and wait for your turn.
Aussies pride themselves on being good friends and neighbours, and not just to people they know. They tend to greet everyone from the mail carrier to the cab driver with a “g'day” or “how ya going?”. For Australians, this emphasis on mateship creates a cheery, welcoming attitude, and one that says anyone can be a mate.
According to Dr Tanya King, senior lecturer in anthropology from Victoria's Deakin University, “it's Australians' egalitarianism, sense of humour and informal language that are most commonly cited as examples of this attitude”.
Sign up to a club of some variety:
Book clubs, movie clubs, photography – any popular hobby is going to have a social group attached to it somewhere. It makes for a great opportunity to not only spend time doing something you love, but you'll probably meet people with loads in common with you, too.
WINK is just like Tinder but for friends! The app lets users swipe left or right on profiles they feel that will be a match. You can select the age range and gender of people you want to connect with and add your interests so you and your matches have at least one thing in common.
A person with no friends is often called a loner. Some other terms that are used to describe a person that is lonely or isolated include recluse and hermit.
Causes of loneliness include life changes that lead to social isolation, like moving to a new place, grieving a death, or the end of a relationship. In some cases, loneliness is linked with mental health conditions like depression.
In general, based on 2021 survey data, the average person in America has between 3 and 5 close friends. According to this survey: almost half (49%) report having 3 or fewer close friends. over one-third (36%) report having between 4 and 9 close friends.
"Making friends in your 20s can be challenging," says licensed marriage and family therapist Laurel Roberts-Meese. "The structures and systems we made friends through before don't exist anymore. Sure, we have the workplace, but workplaces aren't structured to assist your psychosocial development."
According to “The Friendship Report,” a global study commissioned by Snapchat in 2019, the average age at which we meet our best friends is 21—a stage when we're not only bonding over formative new experiences such as first love and first heartbreak, but also growing more discerning about whom we befriend.
Sometimes having no social life is a choice. You may be one of those people who simply likes to be alone. However, sometimes isolation is caused by anxiety. If you feel you're experiencing symptoms of social anxiety disorder, there may be underlying conditions that should be evaluated.
"Lacking encouragement from family or friends, those who are lonely may slide into unhealthy habits," Valtorta says. "In addition, loneliness has been found to raise levels of stress, impede sleep and, in turn, harm the body. Loneliness can also augment depression or anxiety."