Friendship is one of the happiest experiences in life. There are different stages of life and people who come to your present through each time. At the same time, each friendship story is unique and unrepeatable. A happiness exercise you can do is to brainstorm moments of friendship linked to special people. In this Psychology-Online article, we name 15 types of friends that a person can have. Which ones do you have?
1. Fake friends
The first type of friends are fake friends. This type of relationship is usually closely linked to the disenchantment of those who feel used by that friend for a specific reason. A false friend is one that is discovered after the fact, that is, something happens at some point that reveals the other person’s hypocrisy or their position regarding this friendship. For example, lies that are discovered. We explain to you.
2. Real friends
In contrast to the type of bond described in the previous section, there are those friends who closely accompany you in your life even when they live miles away. Real friends are those who sincerely value you, appreciate you unconditionally, there is a shared and reciprocal interest in nurturing this bond that unites you.
It may happen that some of your real friends are people you have known since childhood. But you may also have discovered true friends in more recent stages. They are people who know you and whom you have especially present both in your moments of joy and in your circumstances of sadness. At the same time, you also rejoice in the hopes of your true friends and you also want to be by their side when they go through a period of difficulty.
3. Friends forever
These types of friends are those friendships that last forever. Time is a factor that describes the story of a friendship that evolves with its protagonists. The years go by and both can make a memory of the past through the moments shared together. These types of friends represent a friendship in which there is a solid commitment that is strengthened by mutual admiration, sincerity, empathy and affection of those who observe the importance that each one has in the life of the other. Friends forever also argue and experience periods of crisis. Here we explain. While other relationships can stay stuck at a specific point, a friendship of this type is updated with new conversations, new moments and changes.
4. Friends from university
Those who have studied at the university not only remember what they learned during this time through study, but also link this period with the human factor of new personal relationships. New friendships that arise in class. And, also, friendship with roommates or the university residence. New friendships that expand the group of friends that a person has formed so far at school or high school.
These types of new friends arrive at a time in life that is very important on an academic and personal level since the student is preparing to pursue a profession. Many of these new friends may also share this same professional vocation or, on the contrary, have a different profile.
5. Friends with benefits
This is a type of bond that has been described in cinema through films, such as: Without Compromise (No Strings Attached), film starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. They both play Emma and Adam, two friends with benefits who try to maintain a bond of this type, that is, without a romantic commitment (with the difficulty that this poses in practice for the protagonists of this story). Another film that also addresses this theme is Con Derecho a Roce (Friends with Benefits) starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Relationships that show the absence of loving commitment and the agreement not to fall in love. Here we explain more about this type of friends: the .
6. Friends of different ages
Another type of friends are those who have a significant age difference. Since the social circle can also be enriched by the points of view and experiences of people of different ages with whom you also have points in common. The age difference reflects the intergenerational ties present in the family. And this characteristic can also occur in friendship. For example, older people can share life lessons and reflections that are closely linked to the wisdom of age.
7. Friends at a distance
The circumstance of distance makes you miss having the possibility of improvising plans on a daily basis. However, you experience the joy of reunions and planning the next trip to visit friends from a distance. It is someone with whom you maintain regular communication through the telephone and new technologies. And even though there is physical distance between them, you feel closer than other friends who live in the same city.
In other cases, it also happens that the circumstance of distance produces a distancing in the relationship when both have not consistently cared for the bond in this new stage.
And in some cases, it also happens that the friendship itself is also born in the distance, as happens when two friends meet through the Internet and maintain contact online.
8. The party friend
With this type of friend you have a great time, he is the life of the party. You wouldn’t go to a party without this friend, because you know that he is a safe bet to have fun. Perhaps not the best companion for doing school or university work, but you will be very happy to have it on special days, such as your birthday parties, or even your wedding day. The one that will mess up!
9. The photographer friend
You are in a restaurant, they bring the food and you hear: “wait, wait.” Take out your phone and “flash”. Constantly like that. It can be a bit tiresome to have to repeat a photo 50 times. But, you are very happy when, with all this graphic material, your friend prepares an emotional video or photo album for you. You will always have this beautiful friendship documented.
10. The friend who arrives late
What patience! This is the type of friend you have to give plenty of notice. He doesn’t know how to calculate time or entertains himself with anything. Namely. What you do know is that, when you meet him or her, it is better that you take something to pass the time while you wait for him or her. We all have a friend of this type. And if you don’t have it, it’s you! You will always have to say that “good things come to wait.”
11. The innocent friend
That friend who sees everything positive, who believes in magic and who brims with optimism. His joy is contagious, it is very pleasant to spend time with him or her. But of course, he doesn’t see them coming. You try to warn him and warn him, but it doesn’t help much. Of course, when he has some disappointment and is very upset, you are there to support him. That is friendship.
12. The confident friend
That is a very important type of friend. He is that person to whom you can tell anything. With him or her you have absolute trust, you feel listened to, understood and, above all, not judged. That friend who allows you to express yourself in your own way and at your own pace. This type of friend helps you grow as a person, it is one of those friendships that is worth keeping. You’re lucky!
13. The intermittent friend
The intermittent friend is that type of friend who doesn’t leave your side for seasons and then you may not hear from him or her for a long time. These seasons of “disappearance” can coincide with the periods in which you have a partner or a new job. When what kept him so busy is over, he comes back to you. That can make you angry with that friend. If that happens, remember that each person manages their romantic relationships differently and that, if he is your friend, you will have to accept him as he is.
14. Envious friends
Every person has had at some point in their life an envious friend, the one to whom you tell that yesterday you walked 5 kilometers and he answers that he walked 10. The one who always wants the same thing as you and who tries to pretend that he is better at everything. As in the previous type of friend, this can make you angry sometimes, however, you should know that this type of behavior is due to a problem of insecurity and lack of self-esteem of that person and that, if he is your friend, you should accept him as is and not judge him.
15. The childhood friend
You know when your friendship began because you have photos or because your parents tell you, you were so little that you don’t even remember. You may not continue to maintain daily contact with your childhood friend, but this type of friend is never forgotten.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Giner, M.J.C. (1995). Friendship: anthropological perspective (Vol. 2). Icaria Editorial.
- Zaccagnini, J.L. (2010). Friendship and psychological well-being: the role of “friends c”. Encounters in Social Psychology, 5(1), 63-72.