The average human has (or should have) five close friends with whom he can connect with on a regular basis. It can vary by one or two, but five seems to be that sweet spot. This is especially true if your various friends fulfill different roles in your life.
Fifteen percent of men have no close friendships at all, a fivefold increase since 1990. Women have witnessed a friendship decline too, but it has been far less pronounced. In 1990, roughly four in ten (41 percent) women said they had six or more close friends, compared to 24 percent today.
In your 30s and 40s, a small, tight-knit group is optimal. Having three to five close friends allows for paired activities (tandem biking, charades), as well as intimate group outings (movie nights, wine tastings, group discount rates).
Humans have a limit on how many deep friendships they're able to sustain. In the 1990s, evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar published a study claiming that humans can cognitively handle up to 150 meaningful social relationships (which includes family and friends) at any point, colloquially known as Dunbar's Number.
There's no “right” number of friends you should have, but research says most people have between 3 and 5 close friends. Friendship is necessary, but it can feel challenging to find people who really “get” you. What's more, what you need from your friends might change as your life circumstances change.
the average woman has 4–6 true friends. They rate themselves as an 8.5 out of 10 as far as what kind of friend they are. They have had friends for over 25 years and have made new friends in the past five years. I found the age group of 40- to 60-year-old to be the ones that favor these statistics the most.
Despite the high volume of #squadgoals grams posted by acquaintances you don't actually go out with, it's actually perfectly normal to have just a few close friends. So whether you've grown apart from your high school or college friend group, or never had one to begin with, here's why—and why it's OK!
The study also revealed that men will have six relationships - two of which will last more than a year, while women will have five. Men and women both face get cheated on once in their quest to find 'The One' - but the average adult will also be the cheater on at least one occasion in their dating lifetime.
Humans really do seem to have a natural limit to the number of meaningful relationships they can have. And this number is about 150. In recent years, Dunbar has taken his idea further by taking into account the emotional closeness between individuals.
According to a study conducted by researchers at Aalto and Oxford universities, 25 is "peak friendship" age, and after that, they tend to dwindle.
However, introverts don't need a wide circle of friends. They prefer one or two close friends, even though they may know many people and have many acquaintances. Despite this preference, introverts are often criticized for not attempting to make more friends, and are often viewed as lacking social skills.
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.
They don't have any friends.
Jessica Harrison, a licensed professional counselor and owner of Courageous Counseling and Consulting, says a lack of long-term friendships is a major red flag.
Men are lonely. Growing numbers of men are standing at the bottom of that hill, alone and overwhelmed, as surveys point to a recession of social connection among those of us with a Y chromosome. A YouGov poll in 2019 concluded that one in five men have no close friends, twice as many as women.
The average time for men to fall in love is 88 days, while those same feelings of true love take women 134 days. Another dating site, Elite Singles, did a poll in 2017 and found that 61 per cent of women believe in love at first sight, while 72 per cent of men do. These surveys focused on heterosexual relationships.
Men, on the other hand, average about 10 sexual partners, eight dates, six one-night stands, eight kisses, and six long-term relationships. So, more all around generally, but perhaps that has to do with 88 percent of men surveyed subscribing to the notion of "true love," compared to 94 percent of women.
A study has shown that a person can fall in love at least three times in their lifetime. However, each one of these relationships can happen in a different light from the one before and each one serves as a different purpose.
More troubling is perhaps the change at the other end of the scale, where the share of people saying they have no close friends at all went from just 3 percent in 1990, to 12 percent in 2021.
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.
The bottom line. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how many friends you have. If you don't feel the need to make more friends, trust your instincts without letting the opinions of others sway you. That said, loneliness can contribute to mental health symptoms, including anxiety and depression.
Obviously, most people don't meet all of their friends during childhood and, unfortunately, not all friendships last forever. The poll found that the average friendship lasts for 17 years, however, 17 percent say they've had the same best friend for over 30 years!