Why Do We Need Friends?

@ashjoe76 (1422)
India
February 7, 2007 4:21am CST
Aren't we all happy if we have a good family - a great looking spouse, a couple of wonderful kids and to add to this, if we have a good white collar job? Why do we need friends in life? Just to give vent to our frustruations, or to satisfy our ego by frequently alluding to one another's success rates and family life? Sorry if I sound like a misanthrop, but I am losing my trust in friendships these days. Correct me if you have a moving story about friends.
19 people like this
116 responses
@as2006 (5040)
• Israel
7 Feb 07
We do not need friends!But with friends our life more interesting,more with emotion,sometime you need to talk with somebody to have some edvise - if you have a good friend it can be very helpful.Even to spend good time with your wife and friends and so on.
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
True. But in the modern materialistic world, many are treating friends as anither commodity. I am glad that there are a few like you who still believe in the goodness of friendship.
4 people like this
• Netherlands
7 Feb 07
I have only one really true friend, and I think we have continued to be friends because we DON'T need eachother. I have a great spouse, wonderful children, and amazing parents - and I am satisfied with that....most of the time. But sometimes it's nice to be around someone that doesn't expect anything from me other than my presence and some laughs. No really moving stories here - just years of strange loyalty based purely on respect for eachother and mutual support and a desire to hang out sometimes. I think the psychology behind friends is the expanse of the human personality - rarely are just a few people enough to fulfill everything we need to feel happy. Unfortunately, so many "friends" depend too much on us to fix thier problems and be their caretakers.
4 people like this
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
Wow, that's so intelligent, and matter of fact. I too pay a lot of attention to the concept of 'respect', and I think that is what we need basically in all sorts of relationships.
2 people like this
• Netherlands
7 Feb 07
Thank you for the kind words and response rating! It's much appreciated.
2 people like this
@kushal24 (200)
• India
7 Feb 07
man is a social animal and he cant possibly live alone,he always needs someone to help him out and he needs to discuss his problems with someone and that is where a a friend comes in.it is impossible that a human has no friend
4 people like this
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
True. Thanks friend.
3 people like this
• United States
7 Feb 07
It most definatly is not impossible when your old dissabled and live alone!especialy if due to circumstances beyone your controll you have had to move to a new state due to a hurricane what it realy is is misserable i know first hand!
4 people like this
@anex84 (465)
• Bulgaria
7 Feb 07
We need friends so that we can better relate to the world and help the world better relate to us... without social interaction, we become bystanders and let life pass us by.
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
Good Observation. Thanks friend.
2 people like this
@crazy1 (479)
• New Zealand
7 Feb 07
I think that ma is a social animal, we need friendship and companionship in our lives. Friendship to some may be an over rated thing, but I feel it's needed, even if only on a social level.
4 people like this
@Rittings (673)
7 Feb 07
Friends are very important. No man is an island. Friends can be ears for us when we can speak to no-one else (even our families). When the situations are too close to home and stuff, then friends will be the ones who step up. And we must be there for them also. And friends can be fun. It's nice to chill with your friends and not worry about any complicated relationships we may have with them. I don't have any really moving stories, but I do know that my friends have helped me out of some tough spots in my life, and I hope I can reciprocate for them one day.
4 people like this
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
great response. thanks dear friend.
2 people like this
@jewel76 (2305)
• Canada
7 Feb 07
It's always good to have a friend. A friend can be there for you when everyone else is busy, a friend can listen to you vent or talk about happy moments, a friend can lend you a hand when you need help, a friend can give you advice, a friend is a person with whom you'll have fun with, like no one else in your surroundings. Hope your faith in friendship can be renewed. Maybe you just don't have the right kind of friends.
3 people like this
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
Thanks a lot friend for that thoughtful comment.
1 person likes this
@raijin (10345)
• Philippines
7 Feb 07
I have friends, eversince my childhood they've been with me all along. They help me when I'm in need, in exchange to that, I also lend them a hand when they are troubled. You see, everybody needs a friend. They can be your parents, your family or even your officemates. It's a great feeling mingling with others and share thoughts at the same time. I value friendship, they are the best thing that the world has offered us. Having them is a blessing already from above..
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
I agree with you dear friend. Keep posting.
2 people like this
• India
7 Feb 07
man cannot live without society he need society for existance.it is not only money and sucess that he need .even if anybody is having every thing in this world his life is not considred to be good because he needs something else he need a person with whom he can express his ideas and he can share his feelings. a friend shares our idea and gives us the right suggestion he becomes happy in our happiness and feels the pain of our sadness. he makes our life more intresting and enjoyable.
@ashjoe76 (1422)
• India
7 Feb 07
thanks friend. keep posting.
2 people like this
• Canada
7 Feb 07
IN my life, I make a pretty strong distinction between 'friends' and 'aquaintances'. So many of the people in my life are aquaintances. Friends won't compete with you over lives, they won't manipulate you or use you against other poeple. Friends add richness to your life. And they help support you through the rough times. I do hear what you are saying about a lot of 'friendships' not being very healthy these days. Especially among the younger crowd. But I think that if you can find sometrue friends, they will add depth to your life.
@apsara60 (6610)
• Israel
7 Feb 07
Friends are our company from very childhood, and we grow making friends. spouse, children relatives, they come later, but before them friends are already part of our life. At least till the age of schooling most of us enjoy our lives with friends. Life without friend will be very lonely. Yes I agee that as you grow and become more involved in other aspects of life, you have less and less time for friends, and you start thinking that you can do without them, but whenever you will find yourself in fix or lonely, there will always be a friend for you. So if one friend did hurt your feelings does not mean all friends are same. change your attitude about friends and get involved in real friendship again.
3 people like this
@bethmt (419)
• United States
7 Feb 07
Relationships with family members, if we get along well with them, can be wonderful and rewarding. But the family dynamic can also become rather insular and even isolating at times. Friendships can add a freshness to our own personal insight and how we view the world around us, they can be an opportunity for us to help others outside the family unit and they can also give us a certain validation that family isn't always able to give us. Sometimes it's good just to take a break from family life and spend time with friends by having fun, chatting, going out or something along those lines.
• United States
7 Feb 07
what if one is not so lucky lives far from family and poor, alone with no friends life is far from happy .Days can go by without contact with another human being maybee even snowed in unable to even go to walk aroud a store just to be close to others !Life is not always as rosy as you describe it for thousands of folks ,what about homeless people Im glad for you that you are happy but remember with othere it is not always so!
2 people like this
@vicat506 (132)
• United States
7 Feb 07
Humans need social interaction to survive properly. Take a look at people in prision. When they're put in solitary confinement, they go crazy. Having a family is very important, but people also need changes of scenery and other points of view in their lives to make it not so monotonus.
• United States
7 Feb 07
you got that right!like i tell my daughter even in prisin you can talk to a cell mate or a guard being in solitare in or out of prison is hell!
2 people like this
• Australia
7 Feb 07
I beleive we go about our daily life without freinds . But there are times in my life that I need to talk to somebody other than my family around me . It is always better for me to receive advice from outside family at times!!
3 people like this
• India
7 Feb 07
We dont need friends, especially fair weather friends, and most of them are just that. Be happy with your family and stay away from so called friends, most of them are not worth even a thought. No bitterness here, just lifes experience.
@sanjeev9 (115)
• India
7 Feb 07
because friendship is everything you cannot share everything with your family but you can share everything with your friend so it is the need of a friend....
2 people like this
7 Feb 07
my friends (the good ones) are like family to me and just as important life would be very dull without them! i feel sorry for anyone who thinks they don't need a friend or two. friends are important because unlike family they chose to be around you because they like you not because your related.
@miladsafa (124)
7 Feb 07
we need friends to fulfill our socila needs and have the feeling that we are being loved
2 people like this
@reaperz (1266)
• United States
7 Feb 07
how could you not like friends yo? Friends help you with stuff
2 people like this
@pmalinro (65)
• Romania
7 Feb 07
I allways say we allways need frends because we never can rely only on our own powers . somewhere on the way we must make a wrong step and will need to be helped by a friend . If you have 5 good friends that you now they will never dissapoint you... you got everything
2 people like this