The Importance of Friendship: Why Having Good Friends Matters More Than We Think

Life Is Better When We Have People to Share It With

Think about the last time you laughed so hard with a friend that you forgot about everything stressing you out. Maybe it was over coffee, during a late-night conversation, on a spontaneous adventure, or while doing absolutely nothing together.

Those moments might seem small, but they represent something fundamental to being human: our need for connection.

Friends are the people we share our experiences with. They celebrate our wins, listen when life gets difficult, challenge us to grow, and remind us that we don't have to figure everything out on our own. They can turn an ordinary afternoon into a memorable experience and make difficult days feel a little more manageable.

Yet, with busy schedules, work commitments, relationships, family responsibilities, and the demands of everyday life, friendship can easily take a back seat.

We often prioritize our careers, finances, fitness, and personal goals while assuming our social lives will take care of themselves. But meaningful friendships aren't simply a bonus feature of a happy life. Research suggests they are an important part of our overall well-being.

So, why are friendships so important? And what happens when we don't make enough time for them?

Let's look at what the research tells us.

1. Friendships Support Our Mental and Emotional Well-Being

Life isn't always easy. We experience disappointment, stress, uncertainty, heartbreak, and moments when we question whether we're doing enough or heading in the right direction.

Having a good friend can make those experiences easier to navigate.

A trusted friend gives us someone to talk to when we need to get something off our chest. They can offer a different perspective, remind us of our strengths, or simply listen without trying to fix everything.

Sometimes, the most valuable thing a friend can say is, "I've got you."

Research supports the connection between friendship and well-being. A 2023 systematic review published in Frontiers in Psychology examined 38 research articles on adult friendship and well-being. The review found that friendship quality and socializing with friends were positively associated with well-being across the studies examined. The authors also identified important gaps and inconsistencies in the available research, meaning the findings should not be interpreted as proof that every friendship produces the same benefits.

Read the research: Adult Friendship and Wellbeing

Good friendships can provide emotional support, encouragement, and a sense of perspective. They give us opportunities to talk openly, share our experiences, and feel understood.

And friendship isn't just about having someone available when life goes wrong. It's also about having someone who genuinely wants to hear about the good things happening in your life.

The takeaway: You don't have to navigate every challenge alone. Sometimes, a conversation with someone who cares about you can make a meaningful difference.

2. Friendship Is Connected to Our Physical Health, Too

When we think about improving our health, we usually think about eating well, exercising, sleeping enough, and keeping up with medical appointments.

Friendship probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind.

But research suggests our social relationships deserve a place in that conversation.

A major 2010 meta-analysis published in PLOS Medicine combined findings from 148 studies involving 308,849 participants. Researchers found that people with stronger social relationships had approximately 50% higher odds of survival than those with weaker social relationships.

That finding is striking, but it needs context. The research examined social relationships broadly, not friendships alone, and it shows an association rather than proving that friendship directly causes people to live longer. It also doesn't mean that every individual with strong friendships will live longer than someone with fewer social connections.

Still, the findings highlight how closely our social lives are linked to our health.

Read the peer-reviewed study: Social Relationships and Mortality Risk

The U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory on social connection also highlighted the health consequences of loneliness and social isolation, including associations with cardiovascular disease, depression, and premature mortality.

Read the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on social connection

Why might relationships matter so much?

Supportive relationships can help people cope with stressful situations, feel less alone, and maintain healthy behaviors. Friends might encourage us to get outside, exercise, seek help when we need it, or stick with positive changes.

These benefits aren't guaranteed, and friendship isn't a substitute for medical care. But the evidence makes one thing clear: social connection is an important part of the broader picture of health.

The takeaway: Taking care of your relationships can be one meaningful part of taking care of yourself.

3. Friends Help Us Feel Like We Belong

Humans don't just want to be around other people. We want to feel accepted by them.

There's a difference between being in a crowded room and feeling connected to the people around you. You can have colleagues, acquaintances, social media followers, and a full calendar and still feel as though nobody really knows you.

Friendship helps bridge that gap.

A good friend allows you to show up as yourself. You don't have to impress them, pretend your life is perfect, or constantly prove your worth. You can be excited, frustrated, awkward, uncertain, or completely ridiculous — sometimes all in the same conversation.

That sense of acceptance matters.

When we feel that we belong, we're more likely to have people we can turn to, experiences we can share, and spaces where we feel comfortable being ourselves.

Friendship also helps us feel that we matter to someone beyond our responsibilities and achievements. We're not just an employee, a parent, a partner, or a person trying to get through another busy week. We're someone another person wants to spend time with.

And belonging doesn't require a huge social circle. One or two meaningful friendships can be incredibly valuable.

The takeaway: You don't need to be liked by everyone. You need opportunities to build genuine connections with people who appreciate who you are.

4. Friends Make Life More Enjoyable

Not every benefit of friendship needs a scientific explanation. Sometimes, having friends simply makes life more fun.

Think about the experiences that become stories you tell for years. The spontaneous road trip. The terrible movie you watched together. The coffee that turned into a three-hour conversation. The hike where everything went wrong but somehow became one of your favorite memories.

Friendship gives us people to share those experiences with.

It can also encourage us to try things we might otherwise avoid. A friend invites us to a new restaurant, introduces us to a hobby, persuades us to attend an event, or suggests going for a walk when we've spent too much time indoors.

And sharing positive experiences can strengthen relationships. The laughter, inside jokes, and little traditions that develop over time become part of the story you share with another person.

The value isn't necessarily in what you do. It's in who you're doing it with.

A $7 coffee can become a memorable afternoon. A simple walk around the neighborhood can turn into a conversation you desperately needed. An ordinary Friday night can become something special because you had someone to share it with.

We don't always need a vacation, a major milestone, or an expensive experience to feel fulfilled. Sometimes, we just need to get out of the house and spend time with people we enjoy.

The takeaway: Don't wait for a special occasion to make memories. Ordinary moments with good friends can become some of life's most meaningful experiences.

5. Why Friendship Becomes More Challenging as We Get Older

Making friends can feel relatively natural when we're younger. School, university, sports, and other shared environments repeatedly put us in contact with the same people.

As adults, those opportunities can become less frequent.

We start careers, move to new cities, enter relationships, raise families, and take on responsibilities that compete for our time. Our friends' lives change, too. One person might work nights, another might have young children, and someone else might be trying to build a business or finish a degree.

Suddenly, organizing a simple get-together requires coordinating several calendars.

It's not necessarily that we stop valuing friendship. We just have fewer built-in opportunities to develop it.

And there's another challenge: making new friends often requires us to put ourselves out there. We have to initiate conversations, invite people to do things, and accept the possibility that the other person might not be available.

That can feel uncomfortable, especially when we're used to friendships developing naturally through school or work.

But adult friendship is possible. It simply may require more intention.

The 2023 systematic review on adult friendship and well-being found that efforts to maintain friendships were positively associated with well-being. In other words, nurturing relationships matters; friendship is not just about meeting someone compatible and hoping the relationship takes care of itself.

Explore the adult friendship research

The good news? You don't need to reorganize your entire life to make room for connection.

You can start small: a quick coffee, a walk after work, a casual lunch, or an invitation to join you at an event.

You don't need to wait until your schedule is perfect or until every one of your existing friends is available.

The takeaway: Friendship may require more effort as we grow older, but it remains worth making time for.

6. Loneliness Isn't Always About Being Alone

One of the most misunderstood aspects of loneliness is that it doesn't necessarily depend on how many people are around us.

You can be surrounded by coworkers, spend evenings with family, or regularly attend social events and still feel disconnected.

That's because loneliness is a subjective experience. It describes the distress we can feel when our relationships don't meet our needs for connection. Social isolation, by contrast, refers more to the objective lack of social contact or relationships.

The two can overlap, but they're not the same thing.

The U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory explains that social connection involves the structure, function, and quality of our relationships. Simply counting how many people we know doesn't tell the whole story.

Source: U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on loneliness and social connection

This helps explain why a person can have hundreds of online connections and still wish they had someone to grab dinner with. It also explains why being in a relationship doesn't automatically fulfill every social need.

Different relationships serve different purposes. A romantic partner may be an important source of love and support, but friendships can provide their own unique experiences, perspectives, shared interests, and sense of community.

The goal isn't to have a packed calendar or a massive circle of friends. It's to develop relationships that feel meaningful and give us opportunities to connect.

And if you're feeling lonely, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. Many people experience loneliness at different points in life. It can be a signal that your need for connection deserves more attention.

The takeaway: Being around people and feeling connected to people are two different things. Meaningful relationships help us move beyond simply being social to feeling that we belong.

7. How to Build and Maintain Meaningful Friendships

Knowing that friendship matters is one thing. Making time for it is another.

The good news is that meaningful friendships don't have to begin with a grand gesture. Often, they start with small, consistent moments.

Here are five ways to create more opportunities for friendship in your life.

1. Be the person who reaches out

It's easy to assume that someone else should make the first move. But a simple invitation can be the beginning of a great friendship.

Send the text. Ask a coworker to grab lunch. Invite someone to get coffee after work.

Don't overthink it. You don't need a perfect opening line or an elaborate plan.

2. Make plans around activities you already enjoy

Shared activities make it easier to spend time together without putting too much pressure on the interaction.

Try a walk, a hike, a fitness class, a local event, a coffee shop, or a casual meal.

You don't have to have everything in common to become friends. Sometimes, the activity is simply an easy way to get the conversation started.

3. Make friendship part of your routine

Instead of waiting for a free weekend, find smaller pockets of time.

A 30-minute coffee, a walk during lunch, or a quick catch-up after work can help you stay connected.

Consistency matters more than planning an elaborate outing every few months.

4. Be willing to meet new people

Your next close friend might not be someone you already know.

Be open to conversations with people you meet through hobbies, work, community events, or mutual friends. If you click with someone, consider turning that conversation into an actual plan.

Friendship often starts with a little curiosity and a willingness to take the first step.

5. Show up as yourself

Strong friendships need honesty, trust, and mutual effort.

You don't need to pretend to have the same interests, hide every difficult moment, or present a perfectly polished version of yourself.

Ask questions. Listen. Share your own experiences. Follow through on plans. Respect each other's boundaries.

And remember that not every new connection will turn into a close friendship. That's normal. The goal is to create opportunities for genuine relationships to develop.

8. Friendship Is About More Than Having Someone to Call

When we talk about friendship, it's easy to focus on the big moments: the friends who show up during a crisis, the people who stand beside us at major milestones, or the ones who have known us for decades.

Those relationships are valuable.

But friendship is also built in the everyday moments that don't seem particularly significant at first.

It's having someone to share a random thought with. Someone who wants to hear about your day. Someone who says yes to a last-minute coffee. Someone who helps you discover a new place or reminds you that there's more to life than work and responsibilities.

It's the freedom to say, "I'm bored. Want to do something?" and have the possibility of a real plan.

Not every friendship needs to become lifelong to matter. A new friend can make a meaningful difference in your life today, even if you don't yet know what that relationship will become.

And you don't have to wait until you're lonely to invest in your social life. Friendship is worth nurturing when things are going well, too.

The strongest communities aren't built only around people helping each other through difficult times. They're also built around people sharing experiences, celebrating good news, and making ordinary life more enjoyable together.

Final Thoughts: Make Room for Friendship

We spend so much of our lives trying to build something: a career, a business, financial security, a healthy body, or a future we're excited about.

Those things matter. But so do the people we share our lives with.

Research consistently links social relationships with important aspects of health and well-being, even though no single study can guarantee what friendship will do for any one person. The broader message is that human connection deserves to be taken seriously.

Friendship gives us opportunities to feel understood, supported, accepted, and connected. It creates space for laughter, growth, new experiences, and memories that make life richer.

And while making friends as an adult can be challenging, it doesn't have to be complicated.

Sometimes, it starts with a simple question: "Hey, want to grab coffee?"

You never know what a small invitation might lead to.

So reach out to an old friend. Make a plan you've been putting off. Say yes to an invitation. Or take a chance on getting to know someone new.

You don't need to have your entire social life figured out. You just need to make room for connection.

Because life isn't only about what we accomplish or what we own. It's also about the people who make the journey worthwhile.

At Fringle, we believe that making friends as an adult should feel natural, welcoming, and possible — because everyone deserves opportunities to find their people and make real-life memories.

Here's to making more plans, meeting new people, and building friendships that make life a little brighter.