How many real friends do you have?

How many real friends do you have?

Hello Hello to everyone especially the lions on InLeo

Today I will be posing a question or two...

This is an article written for the #novemberinleo writing prompt series and in particular the Day 11 prompt ....

You can find all the details in the novemberinleo announcement article

My experience of this prompt could be called friendly ☑️
Catch the original announcement in this thread

#novemberinleo Day 11! Hive Reachout invites you to talk about and explore the gift of friendship!
👇🏼

Drop your posts on the community Hive Reachout!

The select few!

I believe in the five friend level framework...

I wonder if you do too!

Friend levels I hear you say, what the fluff is he talking about now.

In actual fact I could say that I believe there are four levels but the top level, The Select Few is split into two almost depending on the sex of the friend...

The 5 levels according to Tengo

1. Acquaintances

Acquaintances are people you know and interact with occasionally, but you don't have a deep connection with them. These are the most numerous in your collection.
I would not really describe them as friends, you might see them at school, uni, work, or social events. You know the sort and you may exchange pleasantries , hi nice weather etc or even just a nod of the head.

Characteristics - Infrequent interaction, limited personal information shared, no strong emotional bond.

2. Casual Friends

When we have more regular interactions with acquaintances then they move up the scale and become casual friends. You will share some common interests with casual friends. For example you might hang out in group settings or occasionally one-on-one, but you don't necessarily confide in them or rely on them for support.

Characteristics - More frequent interaction, shared interests, occasional hangouts, some level of comfort.

For me acquaintances and close friends are classified on the friend scale by social norms of today, I don't classify them as real friends.

3. Close Friends

Close friends are people you trust and feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and feelings with. You have a strong emotional connection and enjoy spending time with your close friends. You support each other through good times and bad.

Characteristics - Regular interaction, deep conversations, shared values, mutual trust, emotional support.

4. Best Friends

Best friends are your closest and most trusted friends. You have a deep understanding of each other and share a strong bond of loyalty. You can be completely yourself around them and rely on them for anything.

Characteristics - Frequent interaction, unconditional support, shared history, deep loyalty, vulnerability.

5. Intimate Friends

Intimate friends are for me the classic best friends with benefits so they will be female in my case. You have all the friendship characteristics of best friends plus physical intimacy.

Characteristics - Deep emotional connection, high levels of trust and vulnerability, shared experiences, physical intimacy.

The gift of friendship

As you journey through life you will realise that the amount of best friends and intimate friends will not be that many.

These are the friends who will drop everything to help you. It might mean them flying halfway round the world to help.

The one thing in common that they have is that they won't ask questions ... they will just do.

Actions speak louder than words, and nothing is more true than with the real gift of friendship.

Dunbar's number

I am sure you aware of Dunbar's number, if not go look it up hehe!

But in short the anthropological theory suggests that humans can only maintain stable relationships with around 150 people. Within that 150, there are only a few truly close relationships, and it is often quoted that a person has 4-6 close with whom they can discuss important matters.

Do you have a number

Mine is 5 the combination of best and intimate friends...

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed my response to the prompt.

Sources and Reference documents

This article is an entry for this month's Inleo writing initiative #novemberinleo

You can find all the details in the novemberinleo announcement article

• Dunbar’s Number, Psychological Safety and Team Size
  October 21, 2022 ... psychsafety.co.uk

Today's prompt is Day 11 | Eplore the gift of friendship

All ramblings are from me, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated, note lead image is generated with AI on pixlr.com from a prompt by me. Any other photographs are all orginal and taken by me the author.

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