Friendship Formation
As someone that would consider themselves shy, it has never been an easy process to make new friends. It takes a little more time for me to form friendships but I do try to go out of my comfort zone and approach people in social settings. I do not have answers on how to approach people to form friendships easier but I have learned a little on how friendships are formed in my sociology class. By using this knowledge there could also be some simple solutions to make sure that friendships stay intact. There are two reasons why people choose the friends they do. One of those reasons is homophily, which is forming friendship due to shared interest. When people share something in common such as the same favorite t.v show, this can lead to friendship and hopefully as time goes on the friends will find other ways to strengthen their bond. The other way that friendship is formed is through propinquity, which is friendship formed due to spending a good amount of time together. This is why it is more likely to become friends with people that are in your ward or in a class together. These two seem to work in tangent with one another because there may be other people that share common interests with you but if you never interact then a friendship may never be formed.
Through knowing that friendship is formed this way, this is a good way to figure out how to maintain that friendship. One way to combine the two are by finding a hobby or club that involves constant interaction with others. That way not only do the people that you are interacting with have a common interest but there is constant interaction and that way bonds are strengthened. Although there are many more factors that go into why some people become friends and others don't and why some friendships last for years where others fizzle out within months, this can be useful to see how something as simple as a common interests and shared time can have such an impact on two individuals. Friends are a great part of life and knowing how to make more friends is always something that could benefit everyone.
Through knowing that friendship is formed this way, this is a good way to figure out how to maintain that friendship. One way to combine the two are by finding a hobby or club that involves constant interaction with others. That way not only do the people that you are interacting with have a common interest but there is constant interaction and that way bonds are strengthened. Although there are many more factors that go into why some people become friends and others don't and why some friendships last for years where others fizzle out within months, this can be useful to see how something as simple as a common interests and shared time can have such an impact on two individuals. Friends are a great part of life and knowing how to make more friends is always something that could benefit everyone.
This is very useful to know. I find it hard to make friends, too. I consider myself outgoing, but it's difficult for me to take friendship past the "acquaintance" phase. This helps. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting, I didn't know that those were two of the main factors of creating and maintaining friendships. It makes sense though!
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