The three different types of friends in your life

In the Netherlands, everyone has an average of about 3.5 friends, of whom 42% live within a radius of three kilometers from you. But 15% of the Dutch also indicate that they have no friends – quite shocking, right? Of those average 3.5 friends, half have the same level of education and three-quarters are of the same gender. Around your fourth to fifth year, you start making friends. So, those were the numbers. Now let's talk about the different types of friends you have in your life.

So you have here the real-friend checklist. If someone meets all fifteen points, then you are clearly dealing with a bestie. But according to sociologist Beata Völker, you judge who your best friend is based on the following: ‘If you think: I can't imagine sharing these things with anyone else. In your best friend, you have the most trust, they know everything about you, you are always there for each other. For someone to become your best friend is a coincidence of circumstances. Often, you also find yourself in the same life phase. You can share something ‘big’ together, and from that, a good friendship arises.’

Of course, you also have the friends you often drink a drink with or who you regularly find on the couch. Each type of friendship has an interest attached to it. According to Aristotle, there are a total of three types of friendship:

1. The utility

Friendships that are ‘useful’ are often temporary. Think of classmates you are friends with while studying or colleagues you work with for a number of years and with whom you therefore interact a lot at that moment. But once you graduate or when you have a different job, that friendship fades away. Not because something happened, but simply because you no longer see each other daily.

2. The pleasure

These are the friends with whom you share a hobby or your buddies you can always call when you feel like a night out. This friendship is based on pleasure. But that doesn't mean they are forever, and that's really not a problem.

3. The good

This friendship is of the permanent kind. It is the friend you call first when something happens, the one who knows everything about you and the first one to flop down next to you on the couch with B&J when there is man drama in your life. Here nine more reasons why you need a BFF in your life.

Look, having friends is just good for your health (just read this). But suppose you also have some friends with whom you actually no longer click, then you can easily get rid of them.