Why it’s better to have a small group of genuine friends

Many of us often have the habit of comparing our friendships to the “cooler” and “bigger” ones that are portrayed on social media. 

Jealousy kicks in when you see your “Instagram mutual” hanging out with her big group of friends during the weekend. 

But the fact of the matter is that not every single friendship you forge along the way is healthy and meaningful. Having lots of friends doesn’t mean anything, if the relationships are shallow. 

Here’s why it’s perfectly fine to have just a few friends as long as they are genuine.

Being an extrovert in the past, I’ve created many friendships but not all of them were flawless and genuine. 

There will always be some who take advantage of you and others who bring you down, affecting your mental health. 

That’s when I realised that despite being surrounded by many friends, not all of them will stick by your side at your lowest or be truly happy for you when you succeed in life.

Be it a genuine small group of three or five friends, they play a significant role in your life because these people are the ones who will be your pillars of strength and support during the best and toughest times of your life. 

Some people use social media to measure the amount of friends they have or are connected to. However, the number of “following” and “followers” on your Instagram profile is all but just a number – it does not define the quality of your friendships. 

Right now, some of my friends are on internship while the rest are back in school and that causes our schedules to clash without fail. Although we haven’t seen one another in a while, things still stay the same when we meet. There’s no awkwardness or uncomfortable conversations at all. 

Spending quality time with your group of close friends is more than enough to help you lead a healthy and contented life. 

You don’t have to be friends with everyone to receive a substantial friendship in return.

We tend to wear a mask and put up a front whenever we meet distant friends or people that we’re not as comfortable with because we’re afraid of being who we really are. 

But it’s different with your close friends because from your problems to secrets, you can share almost everything and anything without being afraid of judgements.

Having genuine friends means you can be who you are comfortably in front of them. Knowing one another’s weak spots, you wouldn’t be afraid to share and talk about them. 

As I grew older, I came to realise the blessings of having just a small group of genuine friends to turn to. 

Genuine friendships should always be long-lasting and healthy. It sure is easy to forge many superficial friendships especially now that social media has become an important part of our lives, but it’s definitely better to have true friends that you can trust and count on even if they’re only a handful.