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Friendships are an important part of social networks that help provide support while they give meaning to life. Friendships form over long and short distances between members of communities and families while religion, gender, or ethnicity should not serve as boundaries. Furthermore, friendships can be very close or very ambiguous. As positive relationships are very healthy, people may wonder if it is best to have a small or large group of friends.

Having a small group of friends provides several opportunities that a large group does not. If a person is fortunate enough to have been involved in a circle of friends since their childhood, then they probably have enjoyed many memorable events while they have likely established a family-like relationship. As they move through life, expanding throughout the world provides a group of friends with diverse exposure. On the other hand, a small group of friends can also lead to stagnation when those friends dislike new experiences as friendships are very influential and friends, which have narrow interests, will encourage their friends to engage in limited experiences.

A large group of friends can create very wide exposure to new experiences and opportunities while acting as a supportive community. Then again, the depth of the friendship may not be as significant or provide the trust that a small group of friends can. In the face of tragedies, a large group can help a person cope with the loss of one of those friends, whereas, a small family-like network of friends may be more likely to help with the death of a close family member. Moreover, those who have a large number of friendships are already likely outgoing individuals who are willing to be diverse and experience new thing while it might also mean they cannot form close connections that are essential to a healthy lifestyle and relationships.

Above all, friendship is a about creating memorable experiences and a network of support that encourages its members to experience life. Therefore, being able to have a large group of friends is an important part of life as experiencing the world requires dynamic relationships that thrive on new friendships. Therefore, large groups of friends are beneficial, but within those networks smaller groups of closer friendships are also important.

Learn more about this author, Matthew J. Geiger.
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