Science and life: How many friends are needed for happiness
Text: Anna Savina
Scientific data exist not only in the field of theory: many of them are quite capable of improving our lives, or at least explain how it works. Today we understand how many friends you need for happiness.
Chatting with friends brings more joy than chatting with relatives or being alone
Most of us do not need scientific evidence that communication makes our lives better: almost everyone understands this from their own experience. However, how many friends do you need to be happy? Many will say that this is very individual, but, oddly enough, researchers have a fairly accurate answer to this effect. “Nationwide polls showed that if a person has five or more friends with whom you can discuss important problems, he is much more likely (60%) to consider himself very happy,” noted a well-known American psychologist and researcher in his book “Finding Flow” happiness Mihai Chikszentmihai.
Of course, many other scientists call other numbers: for example, according to a study by British psychologist Richard Tunney of the University of Nottingham, people who have more than ten friends are usually happier than those who have only five. Of course, the number of connections depends on your sociability and many other personal qualities and external circumstances. Nevertheless, it is always worth remembering that it is friends who can make your life much happier: Cikszentmihayi notes that communicating with them brings more joy than communicating with relatives or being alone.
“Again and again, our research proves that people get depressed if they are single, and they feel much better when they are in the company of other people,” says иксikszentmihayi. “The fact is that when we need to interact with someone "Even if it is a stranger, our attention is focused on external demands. The presence of another person makes us set goals and gives us a response to our actions." The psychologist is sure that there is a direct connection between the amount of communication and the quality of life: the more energy and strength you put into building relationships with other people, the happier you will become.
Photo: The children's place
Material was first published on Look At Me