I'm interested in the dynamics of friendship...both male and female. It's limits and boundaries.

How many members have what they consider to be a best friend or do you believe there is such a thing? As kids it's easier to pick out our 'best friend' but being adults this definition becomes blurred. How many members feel like they're simply surrounded by acquaintances who come and go out of our lives? What are members' definitions of best friends--a minumum amount of contact, a certain cognitive connection, similar interests etc...

Anyway, I'd like to hear of people's different views/experiences regarding friendship.

I don't think I have a best friend, rather that I have a ton of close friends, all of which have their ups and downs. I'm not sure that I've ever had a best friend, the stereotypical one, I guess, I was a social outcast until halfway through my freshman year. I'm content with having an inner circle.

I'm pretty sure that I'll know most of them for as long as both myself and they are alive. At least on and off.

Originally posted by ImRatbastard
I'm interested in the dynamics of friendship...both male and female. It's limits and boundaries.

How many members have what they consider to be a best friend or do you believe there is such a thing? As kids it's easier to pick out our 'best friend' but being adults this definition becomes blurred. How many members feel like they're simply surrounded by acquaintances who come and go out of our lives? What are members' definitions of best friends--a minumum amount of contact, a certain cognitive connection, similar interests etc...

Anyway, I'd like to hear of people's different views/experiences regarding friendship.

The best mates I ever had was in the forces..we used to share everything and I mean EVERYTHING!! :D :m:The friendship has never ended even if we are miles apart.

Originally posted by IXL777
The best mates I ever had was in the forces..we used to share everything and I mean EVERYTHING!! :D :m:The friendship has never ended even if we are miles apart.

Village People: "In the Navy!"

:D

Originally posted by SoLiDUS
Village People: "In the Navy!"

:D
RUM,Bum and Baccy...I was in the army though!:cool: :D

I have two best friends. :p One I've known since primary school, the other since secondary. They're the two people I would go to first, although interestingly enough, I don't think I would give their opinion any more weight than other close friends, or feel that they necessarily know me better. :confused:

Thanks for your replies/insights. Do you think being best friends is recipricating? That is are you your best friend's best friend? Huh? Can people be best friends and not see each other for days/weeks months at a time?

Originally posted by ImRatbastard
Thanks for your replies/insights. Do you think being best friends is recipricating? That is are you your best friend's best friend? Huh? Can people be best friends and not see each other for days/weeks months at a time?

The answer to that is simply..yes..I feel that being best friends is reciprocating, in the sense that the flame of friendship is never put out..
Dominic:cool:

Originally posted by ImRatbastard
Thanks for your replies/insights. Do you think being best friends is recipricating? That is are you your best friend's best friend? Huh? Can people be best friends and not see each other for days/weeks months at a time?
I was thinking about this when writing my first post. There's someone else I would gladly be 'best friends' with, but I don't think it's mutual. But you get a close friendship nonetheless.

I'm at uni halfway across England now, so I tend to go for 3 month periods not seeing my best friends, some I communicate with, some I don't, but when I meet them, it's like I only saw them yesterday. :)

i get the same feeling with my mates...its good.

women have less friends than men but alot closer relationships with the friends they do have! an interesting peice of info i thought id share!

I have a best friend! Actually, i have 3. One of them I hardly ever see and we've been friends since we were 1 and a half! The other 2 i've only known a cuople of years, They are Mills and JJ. Mills is on this board too, as some of you mayknow! Her name's Qwerty222! Just thought you might like to know that!

Originally posted by Firefly
I was thinking about this when writing my first post. There's someone else I would gladly be 'best friends' with, but I don't think it's mutual. But you get a close friendship nonetheless.

I'm at uni halfway across England now, so I tend to go for 3 month periods not seeing my best friends, some I communicate with, some I don't, but when I meet them, it's like I only saw them yesterday. :)

I'm in the same boat. There's someone whom I consider to be my best friend but I don't think it's mutual. I've been told that having a 'best friend' is juvenile, but I think it's important to have someone you know will always be around who truly understands you. I'm unsure whether a 'Bugs Bunny' metaphor is passe but have you ever seen the Bugs Bunny cartoon where the little yappy dog runs circles around Butch the bulldog. 'What d'ya wanna do today Butch eh, what d'ya want to do today?' Sometimes that's what I feel like with friends. Can anyone else identify? But if you don't put in the effort, you won't get anything in return. Now I seem to be babbling....

Well, it's not like I deliberately made her my best friend. We just get along soo well, we've known each other so long, got so much in common...

I definatley have a best friend. I being a girl, things are kind of hard sometimes because he and I don't always get each other...but I still wouldn't have it any other way. From my experiences with things, a lot of male-female friendships are harder to break than male-male or female-female, mostly because they don't have a lot of things to fight about. Girls might fight over the guy they want, or vice versa. All kinds of little petty things like that have ruined the friendships I had with girls in the past, so now I just have my friends that are girls, but a guy whom I've known for a long time as my best friend. And that's the way I intend to keep it...:D

Maveric, where'd you get that info from??

I"ve kinda always thought that with "best friends" if the feeling isn't reciprocated, then they're probably not a "best friend" just the friend that you are closest to. Does that make sense??