[Iraneken]

I'm curious to see how many friends/acquaintances you have in your social circles, for me i have all of four people i would class as part of my circle, two friends, a woman i'm dating and her daughter. I imagine this is a small number compared to many and the reason for me is i simply not that bothered with social interacting plus where i've been in this world there seems to be many people who are not really worth the trouble of trying to maintain any form of relationship with, plus i've always preferred a small group of friends.

So how about you? Do have many people in your social circle? Or like me prefer a small circle of real friends?

 

[HorribleAesthete]

I would say that I can only reasonably maintain about three or four close friendships at a time, and even then I tend to withdraw quite a bit. I am not good at staying in contact. Thankfully, my dearest friendships are the sort that can survive many months without contact.

I have a few friendships, maybe four or five, which are solely internet-based as well. I have tried to keep up with several groups at a time, but it is impossible for me.

 

[Iraneken]

Ah you actually make a good point there HorribleAesthete about internet based friendships, i have a fair few too although i don't count them myself even though i've met some of them once at a sporting event, don't think i will again though and not too fussed if i do.

 

[Jwing24]

Good question. I would say up to 5 close relationships at a time. I have many acquantainces but not many close friends. It has always been that way.

 

[vocalist]

The people I am closest to right now, that I spend time with at least 2 times a week or more, are my husband and kids, my mother- and father-in-law, and my brother-in-law and his wife and kids.

On a weekly basis, I have several friends/acquaintances that I see at church every Sunday, and once in a while at a Playgroup; but not really anybody that I make a big effort to see on my own time. Once in a while my husband and I will invite a family from church over for dinner, but this used to happen more often before our second baby was born; now, we're just busy with other things most of the time.

There's also Facebook...

 

[Iraneken]

Ah yes facebook, the amount of "friends" you can make on there seems to be limitless :crazy:

 

[yellowbritt]

I have my parents and sister that I'm fairly close to. At school I have four friends that I'm close to, although I'm closer to some than I am to others. Outside of school I have a friend I've known forever, but I don't get to talk to him much any more. So that's . . . eight?

What I find is that there are certain friends I go to for certain things. I'm not sure any of my friends know everything going on with me at any one time. Each of my friends fulfills certain needs for me, and some fulfill more needs than others.

 

[SarahWilliams]

handful of close current friends (plus a handful of close old friends from college or high school)

many aquaintances (i do not know how to spell this word, and i do not wish to look it up, lazitragedy!)

 

[Zomboy]

I consider a friend as someone of which I've gained a mutual respect with/someone I will voluntarily spend time with. I currently have 3 friends.

An acquaintance is someone who may consider me their friend, though I may not particularly care for them. I have 28437562 acquaintances (most of which know my name though I won't know theirs)

 

[goesupinward]

I consider a friend as someone of which I've gained a mutual respect with/someone I will voluntarily spend time with. I currently have 3 friends.

An acquaintance is someone who may consider me their friend, though I may not particularly care for them. I have 28437562 acquaintances (most of which know my name though I won't know theirs)

agreed.

i would say i have no friends. just a bunch of people i just shoot the breeze with. however, im getting to know this girl well that i would call a friend in nursing school. its like we need each other here so im trying to bond with everyone of them on some level.

 

[no strings attached]

ive got 3 friends i could bet my life on(enfj, esfp and e/intp)

and tons of mates, whom i hang out with and shit, but don't let my inner feelings know. they will know me as an entp. it's nice having lot's of mates but i really don't consider them invaluable assets like my friends as i can be 'all goods' with anyone. just like side dishes, good to have a variety lol.

 

[Iraneken]

Thank you to everyone who has replied, a common theme seems to be a few close friends and some have many acquaintances but are not overly fussed with having a deep connection with any of them, while i have no real life acquaintances i picked up a fair few from facebook, at one point i had 80 people on my list and around 60 i never had any contact with at all so i chucked them off and now around 28 :crazy:

I've also been criticised almost all the time in my life about my lack of socialising and the fact have such a small social circle, by family, by the woman i'm dating (however she's accepted that side of me now) and especially by all the mental health professionals i've seen over the years, they basically said it was the reason i was depressed sometimes, however they never had an answer to my reply of "well actually it bothers you and others more than it ever bothers me" :crazy:

Anyone else face this "you need to be more outgoing" sort of comments or were you better able to stay under the radar?

 

[Miasmatic Domino]

"You need to be more outgoing"

We are quiet outgoers, my friend. We just don't show it very much, but we do like to have fun... in our OWN way :wink:

Hm, my social circles consist of people who stay on the corner; they're like the burnt bits of let's say, hotdogs (I'm very proud of themroud. I like to hang out with people who stay true themselves... and the main reason why they were shun by society is because of "stereotyping":bored:

 

[zwanglos]

I'm very introverted, so friendships kind of come and go for me... moving around a lot (country-hopping for various study-abroad experiences) in my recent history also means I don't keep friends for too long, though I knew I was getting into sth. like that from the outset so I'm steeled against it.

I'd be content with one or two good, close friends, though I won't have something like that in the foreseeable future. I'll probably be more interested in cementing some real friendships once I settle down in a specific area, because internet/long distance friendships don't work, period.

 

[goesupinward]

Thank you to everyone who has replied, a common theme seems to be a few close friends and some have many acquaintances but are not overly fussed with having a deep connection with any of them, while i have no real life acquaintances i picked up a fair few from facebook, at one point i had 80 people on my list and around 60 i never had any contact with at all so i chucked them off and now around 28 :crazy:

I've also been criticised almost all the time in my life about my lack of socialising and the fact have such a small social circle, by family, by the woman i'm dating (however she's accepted that side of me now) and especially by all the mental health professionals i've seen over the years, they basically said it was the reason i was depressed sometimes, however they never had an answer to my reply of "well actually it bothers you and others more than it ever bothers me" :crazy:

Anyone else face this "you need to be more outgoing" sort of comments or were you better able to stay under the radar?

haha, i get that a lot from my family. they always tell me to go hang out with friends. i feel better when im by myself. im coming out of my shell a little now though, it could be a good thing.

 

[Iraneken]

Aye goesupinward i reckon it is a good thing to come out of the shell a little, i started that when i was 17/18 and i usually pick and choose my moments :laughing:

 

[goesupinward]

Aye goesupinward i reckon it is a good thing to come out of the shell a little, i started that when i was 17/18 and i usually pick and choose my moments :laughing:

its not a choice though. im forced into coming out of my shell. in nursing school, you'll need some people to talk to, to get through the hardness of it. hopefully, it will keep me sane and focus on the goal at hand. i know like 10 out of the 12 people that is in our lab, so im feeling more comfortable than before school started.

 

[Iraneken]

Ah right i see, being forced ain't fun in my experience.

 

[goesupinward]

Ah right i see, being forced ain't fun in my experience.

well its not that bad, its not like im being forced into something i dont want to do. getting to know more people is a good thing. i just dont care for the gossip these people talk about though so i tune it out.

 

[SomeRandomGuy18]

I have a small circle of really close friends, and also a wide range of acquaintances.