Today, people cannot count on real friendship as friends, even those far away, call or text every day. It has become a norm to constantly communicate with our friends regularly, and it can become stressful at certain times and may cause some harm to our friendship. But at the same time, one has to understand that, although being good friends, people do not necessarily have to talk every day or be in touch with each other that often.
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| Photo: Omar Lopez/Unsplash |
In this week’s blog post, I am going to try to answer a question that is often troubling people: Is it possible to maintain close friends and regularly communicate with them, if you do not speak to them every day? Today, we shall look at the advantages of this approach, how one can maintain a strong bond, and the myths surrounding the perceived need of the couple to communicate constantly. This article will bring out the steps that one needs to take in case they want to be able to maintain good friends and still not communicate with them daily.
The Myth of Constant Communication
Today, many people have unde conceived expectations that they should be in touch with one another at all times. The pressure of friend encounters is established with the notion that close friends need to call one another every day, chat for hours, and hear each other’s news in real-time. Such pressure can result in feelings of guilt, lack of adequacy to meet such bar set by the society and even the collapse of hitherto healthy relationships.
However, the truth of the matter is that frequent discussions do not always cement a friendship meaning that one can easily remain good friends even if he or she does not converse regularly with his or her friend. It is particularly touching when the demise of the friendship does not revolve around the fact that the two friends had not touched base in a while. These friends are more than just acquaintances because they share a special bond that is developed out of trust, acknowledgment, and intersections thus it can wait for time without communication.
In examining the quality of social interactions, an important point to take into consideration is that quality is more important than quantity. This is your reminder that quality over quantity can be easily applied to communication trends: one wise and profound conversation that may happen once a month is much more helpful and necessary than daily light chats. Thus, moving from this focus to individual interactions and breaking the chain of constant notifications, people can forget the pressure of being always connected and ready to respond, as well as being always present in friends’ lives.
The Benefits of Maintaining Friendships Without Daily Conversations
I understand that it is possible to have many friends who do not need to text you every day and with whom fewer messages are not a bad thing. Here are some of the key advantages:
- Increased Appreciation: When students use such platforms instead of daily calls and notifications, they do value the moments of your interaction more. The time you spend with your partner becomes much more profound and meaningful, and that is because of the presence of such elements as the love destination.
- Reduced Burnout: Such a high level of communication can be rather stressful, both on the mental and emotional level and, as a consequence, analyzing and social media communication often cause burnout and feelings of inevitability. This way, you can guard yourself and your friends from tendencies to become exhausted from each other’s company; time spent apart can rekindle the flame and come back with a more privileged perspective on friendships.
- Stronger Boundaries: Many things are vital for everyone, and relationships and friendships are not the exception because having healthy boundaries is very important. Berry says that by not feeling the need to be in constant communication with the other, one can definitely draw a thick line that will help fend off the intrusion, something which in the long run will make the friendship stronger.
- Fostering Independence: Fostering independence within your friendships can be liberating for both people and give them a sense of flexibility not vested in most other relationships. It provides each of you with the freedom to enjoy your individuality and develop in your own unique ways as you engage with life, only to share and embrace the joy of regained relationship later on.
- Deeper Conversations: This is just to say that although the likelihood of having a conversation with any of these social contacts is less frequent, the sort of conversation that ensues is more comprehensive. There is a sense that you are veering into each other’s lives more; telling some truths about yourselves; pursuing real conversations.
- Adaptability: It is possible, that this sort of friendship has more potential to be flexible in case of radical changes in the friends’ lives, like when they no longer live close to each other or no longer have as much time for friendship due to work or other responsibilities. These are friendships that one should keep enduring all the difficulties that come with it for they will still hold firm.
Strategies for Maintaining Meaningful Friendships
So, although focusing on ‘having no daily chats’ is a good thing in terms of the temporary nature of a friend’s time zone, it is important to always have some plan to strengthen your friendship. Here are some effective approaches: Here are some effective approaches:
- Prioritize Quality Time: That said, the times when it might be possible to speak with the other side are unfortunately rare – so make the most out of it while you can. Understand that casual interactions with friends and/or family members might be tiring and timely, thus, plan for meetings with your friends and/or relatives when you are relaxed and have ample time to accompany them.
- Celebrate Milestones: Remind your friend about the special occasions of their life and congratulate them, if possible on promotion, or any other memorable event of life. This captures the essence of motivation as it indicates that you are concerned and proceeded in your endeavors, although you may not be around physically.
- Maintain Regular Check-ins: However, there are not always daily conversations needed, but setting more standard, if not as frequent, check-in calls – can be helpful. It is important to establish some basic frequency at which to touch base, whether it’s weekly, monthly, or per quarter.
- Utilize Technology Thoughtfully: Even though, I think that the smart use of IT and constant communications could be really tempting, one has to be careful. Rather than resorting to an extremely immense and probably quite annoying level of text messaging, try to opt for more substantial modes of interaction like video calls and voice messages. This can help you keep the so-called deeper level of interaction.
- Share Experiences: Incorporate the below tips to keep on experiencing with a friend even when you cannot be with them physically. This could mean watching a movie or a TV show together via the internet, in groups reading the same books, and participating in the same activity. It can build intimacy when the feelings or memories shared are understood or when the companions perceive that the other has related to them and comprehended their emotions or tales.
- Offer Support: While you cannot always visit your friend in situations that make it difficult for her to be cheerful, help her keep her spirits up by checking in on her. Three simple things can make a lasting impression: a heartfelt message, a care package, or a virtual check-in.
- Embrace Spontaneity: However, it is not bad to be more intentional about having gatherings to boost your friendships and remember that not all hangouts have to be pre-planned. This means you can take your friend by surprise with an unscheduled video call or come up with a caring and creative idea to fuel your rather adventurous friendship.
- Manage Expectations: Discuss individually with a friend your expectations towards the course of the friendship according to your temperament and attitude towards it. Explain your personal receptiveness for how often you want to talk and agree on expectations to prevent such aspects from becoming an issue.
- Cultivate Patience and Understanding: Understand that in a person’s existence, his/her situation may alter, and he/she could have times when the dialog is not as close. Treat these times with caution and tolerance because you know that the core of your friendship is well-built and you can stay cohesive even if there are some changes.
Overcoming Common Misconceptions
- Misconception 1: “It’s like we are not speaking to each other if we do not talk every day” Falsehood: The magnitude of time a friend spends to communicate with another is not always an indicator of a friendship. It is the level and form of the relationship that track time and space and have strengths in embracing opportunities for continuity in the relationship.
- Misconception 2: “It is suggested that constant communication defines healthy friendship.” Facts: A healthy friendship can work through hours, days, or weeks of minimized communication. The average number of message exchanges between two maintenance personnel does not necessarily depict the level of interaction that the two parties require in their daily working environment.
- Misconception 3: My friend will be upset if I don’t speak to them daily.” This is because by speaking out your preference it becomes easier for you and your friend to be on the same page and you also assure them that their friendship is important to you no matter how little contact you two make in the day. To be more precise, the following rules have to be followed: 1) The information published has to be accurate and truthful, 2) the information about the source has to be honest, 3) the rights of the source have to be respected, and 4) the claims have to be justified for the information to be reliable.
- Misconception 4: “I’m a bad friend if I don’t reply immediately,”’ Reality: As much as we need to be Privately responsive to our friends, it is equally important to embrace the culture of guarding time to reply to enhance our friendship. Always on means always on call which means expected to be available and available when one does not necessarily want to be, this puts a lot of pressure on the couple and is not good for the relationship.
- Misconception 5: “It is impossible to keep friends without talking every day.” Fact: While it may not always be healthy to be on the phone or chat with friends daily, yet majority of friends are rare acquaintances that aren’t often spoken to. It is usual to focus on the quality of contact and how close people are, how much they trust each other, and how easily they can resume interactions.