Should You Increase Your Number of Friends in Your 60s? Quality May Matter More Than Quantity

It was an early summer afternoon.

As I walked through the neighborhood park, I saw an elderly man playing shogi on a bench. A little further away, someone was walking their dog, and the voices of children drifted in on the breeze.

Watching that scene, I suddenly wondered.

Should one try to make more friends starting in their sixties?

It was different when I was young.

If I went to school, I made friends.

If I joined a company, I made colleagues.

If I went out for drinks, my circle of acquaintances grew.

"The more friends, the better."

I feel like that was the prevailing atmosphere back then.

But in your sixties, circumstances change.

Some people retire from work.

Some people move away.

Some people suffer from health issues.

Some people just stop being in touch before you realize it.

Looking strictly at the number of friends, it has certainly decreased compared to when I was young.

Yet, strangely enough, I don't feel very lonely.

In fact, in some ways, I feel more at ease.

I don't have to meet up every week.

I don't have to stay in frequent contact.

Even if we haven't seen each other in years, we can talk as if we just picked up from yesterday.

I have more relationships like that now.

The way I socialize has changed.

In fact, there is a famous, long-running study on human relationships.

It is the

"Harvard Study of Adult Development."

It is.

It is one of the world's longest-running longitudinal studies, dating back to 1938, and has tracked the lives of hundreds of people over several decades.

What this study has repeatedly shown is,

What this study has repeatedly shown is,

that good human relationships have a major impact on happiness and health in life.

It seems that the quality of relationships you can trust is more important than the quantity of your social interactions.

I find that very convincing.

When I was young, I cared about the number of people I knew.

But now, it is different.

Friends I meet occasionally.

Acquaintances who contact me from time to time.

Companions who enjoy the same hobbies.

Just having such people in my life is enough to be grateful for.

On the other hand,

I don't think,

"I don't need any new friends anymore."

There is no need to force yourself to make more.

However, there is also no need to close yourself off from others.

In just this past year alone, I have:

Started using note.

Continued using X.

Started using AI.

Released music on YouTube.

Continued swimming.

In the process, I have exchanged words with many people.

I didn't start these things with the intention of making friends.

It's just that by doing things that seemed interesting, my connections with people increased.

And I think to myself:

Among the people I meet from here on out, there might be someone who becomes a dear friend.

When I look back ten years from now,

"That was the person I met back then,"

there might be someone I think of in that way.

That is why I,

do not intend to try to increase my number of friends.

However, I do not intend to reject meeting new people.

I realized this after turning sixty.

What matters is not the number of friends you have.

And it is about not giving up on connections with others from the start.

Life is longer than you think.

After all, someone you meet today could become your best friend ten years from now.

#60s
#ReignitingLife
#Friends
#Relationships
#SeniorLife
#SecondYouth
#LifelongLearning
#note
#Hobbies
#Life