News24.com | Struggling to maintain friendships in adulthood? You're not alone

• The older you get, the trickier it becomes to make friends or to even maintain old friendships.
• According to a study, friendships have declined after the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Spending too much time alone leads to depression and anxiety as well as heart attacks.

If you ask any adult, they'll tell you how hard and awkward making friends is in adulthood. There is so much to consider, like the lifestyle the potential friend has, and their mental stability. And as much as no one will admit, their financial stability also matters. The New York Times reports that friendship in the United States has been declining for years, and this trend was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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In a Gallup poll conducted thirty years ago, just three percent of Americans said they had no close friends. In 2021, a similar online poll saw that number increase to 12 percent. Just one year into the pandemic, 12 percent of women and eight percent of men between the ages of 30 and 49 said they had lost touch with most of their friends.

READ MORE | Is your friendship over? How to make the heartbreaking decision to let go

According to The New York Times, friendship plays a crucial role in well-being. Isolation and loneliness have been linked to increased risk for depression, anxiety, heart attacks, and strokes. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, suggests that between three and six close friends may be an ideal number for well-being. Jeffrey Hall, a professor of Communication studies at the University of Kansas, says what matters most is having a least one important person in your life.

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"Going from zero to one is where we get the most bang for your buck, so to speak, but if you want to have the most meaningful life, one where you feel bonded and connected to others, more friends are better," Hall said. According to Dr Hall's research, close friendships take about 200 hours to develop.

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