Forget the crowd, a small group of friends is all you need! 

Why 5 friends is the magic number when forming real connections.

Questions like “What did you get up to this week?” or “Did you do anything fun on the weekend?” are pretty common. But, they can be tough to answer if you feel like your week wasn’t particularly eventful, or you didn’t have any plans. 

With social media serving as a non-stop reminder that our peers are seemingly doing it all—crushing it at work, never missing their 5am pilates class and always doing something exciting with a massive group of friends—it can be easy to feel like we are falling behind if we don’t have a jam-packed calendar. 

But here’s the thing: whilst there’s no denying that friendships are good for us and play a pivotal role in improving both our physical and mental health, you don’t need a million friends to feel connected or content. In fact, science argues that having a small group of close friends is where its at for building truly meaningful connections that can make us both happier and healthier.

As humans, we are hardwired to crave social interaction and connection - it’s fundamental to our survival. Science has repeatedly demonstrated this, with a now-famous study conducted by Psychologist Juliane Holt-Lunstad (2010) revealing that loneliness is just as harmful for our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Aside from the fact that we rely on shared experiences for survival, we also just happen to enjoy doing things together. Think about it—when you share exciting news like you're going on holiday, out for dinner, or taking a trip to the cinema, the first question people often ask is, "Who did you go with?"

According to one study, when people share an experience with another person, even if they are a stranger, the experience is considered to be more meaningful than when experiencing the same situation alone (Boothby et al, 2014).

So it seems that shared experiences are not only needed for survival purposes but also help add a bit of extra meaning to our lives.

Well, the saying ‘it's all about quality, not quantity’ has proven true time and time again when it comes to friendship. 

Indeed, research shows that whilst we can manage about 150 social relationships at any given time, only a small number of those relationships—typically 5—are considered to be the type of connection in which we feel able to seek support or share personal details about our lives (Dunbar, 1993). 

What’s more, one of the longest-running studies ever conducted, which began in 1938 and is still ongoing, found that the quality of relationships is one of the biggest influences on our happiness. In fact, it’s been found that close social connections are more important to our happiness than wealth and career success! Interestingly, this study involved 2 groups of people from completely different walks of life, yet the outcome remains the same, suggesting that friendship is a universal need, no matter your lifestyle, aspirations or background.

So, the science has spoken: whilst we don’t necessarily need to have a big group of friends to feel content, having a small number of close connections and friendships is key to making us feel big.

Make new friends by joining the StoriBoard Club. Take our 5-minute quiz, get paired up with five like-minded people, and enjoy exclusive discounts and treats from our partner venues. Making new friends has never been so easy! 

This article was written by Emma Annetts - a Marketing Intern at StoriBoard.