What is the importance of having friends?

The different reasons why having the friendship of others is fundamental.

The company that surrounds us can greatly determine who we are. Good friends are always there, either 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 partnerships, along with family and partners. Friends can be such a source of trust, well-being and security that they determine our personality.

In the following we are going to deepen on the subject of the importance of having friends. the importance of having friends, its benefits and how it develops throughout life..

The importance of having friends: its different advantages

From the time we are very young to the time we grow up, friends are a fundamental part of our lives. Trusting other people constitutes the social fabric, because if we could not do so, society as we know it today would not be possible.

Regardless of its importance on a social level, the fact is that forming friendships with other people is very beneficial for our mental health.. This is why it is so important to have friends.

We understand friendship as the close bond formed 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.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 couple 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 affectionate contact of other people in order to develop well..

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

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

Having friends makes us feel integrated into these groups, as well as providing us with great emotional value. By being part of our closest social environment, we benefit from an increase in self-esteem and motivation..

True 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 some of the stress and emotional discomfort, giving us a bit of calm and peace of mind.

The simple fact of being listened to, understood and loved usually acts as a good emotional calming agent.. It is clear that having a friend can bring 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 of the family or the couple.

On the other hand, seeing that there are people who confide in us their insecurities, worries, discomfort 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 toxicity, betrayal or "bad feelings".without toxicity, betrayal or "bad rolls".

Overcoming difficult situations

To place our trust in a friend has a very important therapeutic component, since it helps us to overcome moments of great difficulty such as a bereavement, 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 the push to leave our vices behind or motivate us to start a great project. Many times friends are the ones who motivate us to quit unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking or a sedentary lifestyle.

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 making us more aware of our problems, if any.They make us more responsible and healthy or more aware of our problems, if there are any. 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 take more risky decisions or, due to social pressure, 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 seeing that others accept us generates a great sense of security and appreciation. A true friend accepts us regardless of our personality or personal characteristics, so we don't have to pretend to be ourselves.We do 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 involve serious damage at the psychological level.

Friendship throughout life

Friendships are important at all stages of life, not only in childhood and adolescence. As adults, both young and old, friendships can be a fundamental emotional support. Below we will reflect on the importance of friendship throughout life.

Childhood

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

It is very important that children choose their friends and learn to connect with other people more or less freely. It often happens that parents select their children's friends, either because they think they can be a good influence or because they are the children of reliable friends and acquaintances. It is not wrong to introduce children to new children, but it is very important not to separate them from the 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 because of bullying or because they are bad influences, which cause them to deviate from their studies and have difficulties.

Adolescence

Adolescence is a critical periodand all parents know this because they had to go through it before becoming adults. Hormonal changes, conflicts with the main attachment figures, abstract thinking is reached (Piaget's formal operational thinking) and the first love relationships emerge.

A real identity crisis is experienced which, if poorly managed, will have consequences in adulthood.. Relationships with friends become very important and very intense friendships are formed, which can influence the still moldable personality of the individual and can mean success or failure.

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

Adulthood and senescence

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

Friends are still very important, because it is in these years that we try to gain more independence. It is in these years that we try to gain more independence, looking for an apartment, starting higher education, starting to work... These are times of economic and vital insecurity that, by spending them with friends, makes the difficulty not seem so serious.These are times of economic and vital insecurity that, if we spend them with friends, the difficulty is not seen as so serious.

As we grow older, friendships are reduced to a select group of people with whom we trust a lot. Likewise, new friendships can be made throughout life, some even as late as old age. You are never too old to meet someone with whom you share a lot and with whom you can establish a very nice 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 also brings us emotional well-being, increases self-esteem and self-concept and can allow us to relieve negative emotions that we would not be able to in other, non-professional ways.

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

Bibliographical references:

• Hojjat, M., & Moyer, A. (Eds.). (2017). The psychology of friendship. Oxford University Press.
• Moya, L. (2013) Empatía, entenderla para entender a los demás. A Coruña: Plataforma Actual.