Human beings are social animals. Most of us usually have numerous friends because we need friends not only to have an enjoyable life but also to grow as individuals. Our friends share our sorrows and joys and they help us better understand ourselves. Not all friendships are created equal because we form friendships with others for a variety of reasons. It may be appropriate to classify our friends into three groups, i. e. acquaintances, social friends, and best friends.
Acquaintances are friends we just happen to know in life. They may be our school fellows, our work colleagues, our neighbors, or just someone we met in a social setting. Our interactions with acquaintances are often formal and short. We may know basic details about them but we tend to avoid learning about their more personal matters. It could be argued that the acquaintances are the weakest form of friendship, and we make very little, if any, emotional investment in this form of friendship. The circle of acquaintances is usually the biggest among all types of friends because we simply tend to know lot more people than those we interact with on a regular basis such as social friends and best friends.
The second type of friends is social friends. The social friends could be defined as people whose company we enjoy. We may spend lot of time with them and we may know more about them than we know about acquaintances, but we usually avoid discussions about more personal issues unless given a signal or permission. Social friends have the potential to become one of our best friends over time but such friendships are not initially built on deep trust as much as they are built on common interests or shared social lifestyles. Our relationship with social friends is usually of higher quality than our relationship with acquaintances.
The third type of friendship is best friends. Our relationship with best friends is the deepest among all types of friends. We may share our deepest concerns and secrets with best friends that we may not share with social friends or acquaintances. Our best friends also have the most influence over us among all types of friends because we trust them. The circle of best friends tends to be the smallest among all types of friends because there are only so many people we can trust on a deep personal level. It is not uncommon for us to invest years in best friendships because longer time periods enable us to know people better.
We are social animals which may explain the presence of friends in our lives. The friends can be divided into three main categories which are acquaintances, social friends, and best friends. Acquaintances are people we happen to know, social friends are people whose company we enjoy, and best friends are people who have earned our trust. The circle of acquaintances tends to be the biggest for many people while the circle of best friends tends to be the smallest.
Human beings are
social
animals. Most of us
usually
have numerous
friends
because
we need
friends
not
only
to have an enjoyable life
but
also
to grow as individuals. Our
friends
share our sorrows and
joys and
they
help
us better understand ourselves. Not all
friendships
are created
equal
because
we form
friendships
with others for a variety of reasons. It may be appropriate to classify our
friends
into three groups,
i. e.
acquaintances
,
social
friends
, and
best
friends.
Acquaintances are
friends
we
just
happen to
know
in life. They may be our school fellows, our work colleagues, our neighbors, or
just
someone we met in a
social
setting. Our interactions with
acquaintances
are
often
formal and short. We may
know
basic
details
about them
but
we
tend
to avoid learning about their more personal matters. It could
be argued
that the
acquaintances
are the weakest form of
friendship
, and we
make
very
little
, if any, emotional investment in this form of
friendship
. The
circle
of
acquaintances
is
usually
the biggest among all
types
of
friends
because
we
simply
tend
to
know
lot more
people
than those we interact with on a regular basis such as
social
friends
and
best
friends.
The second
type
of
friends
is
social
friends
.
The
social
friends
could
be defined
as
people
whose
company
we enjoy. We may spend
lot of
time with
them and
we may
know
more about them than we
know
about
acquaintances
,
but
we
usually
avoid discussions about more personal issues unless
given
a signal or permission.
Social
friends
have the potential to become one of our
best
friends
over time
but
such
friendships
are not
initially
built on deep
trust
as much as they
are built
on common interests or shared
social
lifestyles. Our relationship with
social
friends
is
usually
of higher quality than our relationship with acquaintances.
The third
type
of
friendship
is
best
friends
. Our relationship with
best
friends
is the deepest among all
types
of
friends
. We may share our deepest concerns and secrets with
best
friends
that we may not share with
social
friends
or
acquaintances
. Our
best
friends
also
have the most influence over us among all
types
of
friends
because
we
trust
them. The
circle
of
best
friends
tends
to be the smallest among all
types
of
friends
because
there are
only
so
many
people
we can
trust
on a deep personal level. It is not uncommon for us to invest years in
best
friendships
because
longer time periods enable us to
know
people
better.
We are
social
animals which may
explain
the presence of
friends
in our
lives
. The
friends
can
be divided
into three main categories which are
acquaintances
,
social
friends
, and
best
friends
.
Acquaintances
are
people
we happen to
know
,
social
friends
are
people
whose
company
we enjoy, and
best
friends
are
people
who have earned our
trust
. The
circle
of
acquaintances
tends
to be the biggest for
many
people
while the
circle
of
best
friends
tends
to be the smallest.