Adult Friendships
In my view, the knowledge about friendship among children and adolescents is richer than the knowledge about adult friendships. However, given high rates of divorce and geographical (or relational) distance among family members, friends and acquaintance are crucial for our integration in life and society. I am working on patterns of these friendships, where do we make friends, and how do these relationships exactly look like? Interestingly, it seems that in our modern times, friendships are not so important for practical things anymore: while practical help such as doing jobs in the house or garden are largely outsourced, friends are before all important for identity confirmation, companionship and advice. Further, good friends are almost as close to another than marriage partners. However, unlike marriages, friendships do not end abruptly, we rather let them go gradually. Which means of course that we can get them back!