A recent study from Oxford University finds that the average number of close friends an individual has throughout life is small, and friends come and go as we move into different circumstances.

Student participants filled out questionnaires about their friends and families, and were then given free mobile phones with which to contact close friends and family members. Participants agreed to allow scientists to analyze their phone bills to determine with whom they spent the most time talking.

Students had a small inner circle of close friends with gradually expanding circles of more distant friendships. The amount of time spent on the circle of close friends remained the same, although some individuals fell out of the inner circle as new friendships were developed over the course of the study. 

Likewise, social media seemed not to impact the average number of the inner circle of close friends, though it may expand potential for distant friendships (Fiona Macrae, “We Demote Old Friends as New Ones Arrive: Research Finds There is a Natural Limit to the Number of People We Can Stay in Touch With,” The Daily Mail at DailyMail.co.uk, January 6, 2014).

Friendship, Biblically speaking

The Bible has a lot to say about friendship, much of it in the book of Proverbs.

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother,” (Proverbs 18:24, NKJV).

Be friendly to everyone, but choose your close friends carefully. The people we spend time with will impact how we think, what we say, and what we do. Cherish those that encourage and uplift, but who also tell you the truth in a loving way. Ask God for the blessing of good friendships, and the ability to be an excellent friend to others!