In our everyday life, we meet a lot of people. Some of them are who we are very close to, and others who we just know or meet every day, but are not necessarily our friends. Friendship has deep meaning, not everyone we know is our friend. Therefore, in this blog, we will try to understand 4 different stages of friendship.
The 4 Stages Of Friendship
When you meet someone for the first time, they are a stranger to you, but eventually, you get to know them and become closer, this is how friendships often progress. Let’s take a deeper look at the different stages of friendship.
1) Acquaintance
The first stage of a friendship is an acquaintance. An acquaintance is someone whom you know very little about i.e. their name, how they look, etc. In more common terms, they are also known as hi-bye friends. An acquaintance does not affect your life in any way, you simply acknowledge each other’s existence or occasionally talk about general things such as the weather, how their day was, etc.
These people aren’t those you consider a friend, but someone you may know a little bit and occasionally greet. For example – a classmate who you pass by in the hallway and greet or occasionally talk to about superficial things such as classwork.
It is common for an acquaintance to turn into a casual friend over time. However, this may not always be the case. If you wish to be friends with an acquaintance, you can try and talk about common interests and plan activities. For example – if you both enjoy gaming, you can invite the acquaintance for a game night. Doing so will allow you to spend more time with each other, and help you get to know each other better.
2) Casual Friend
People often confuse an acquaintance with a casual friend. Nonetheless, they are quite different. A casual friend is someone who you have recently gotten to know. These are friends you generally enjoy the company of but don’t often engage in activities with. For example – hanging out with a classmate after class for a coffee, occasionally.
A casual friend is someone with whom you enjoy spending time with but may not have any emotional connection. With casual friends, you may make plans to go out, but you may not share your personal feelings with them. Moreover, you may not rely on them in difficult situations.
Similar to an acquaintance, casual friends lack emotional connection. However, you have a slightly more connection to casual friends than an acquaintance.
You may also like reading: Casual Friendship: Why You Need to Have More in Your Life
3) Good Friends
The stages of friendship may vary from person to person. Some people go from stranger to acquaintance, to friend, and then best friend. However, it is not always applicable to everyone.
Sometimes, we get to become friends with a person and develop a good bond but we may often find it hard to open up and share feelings with them. This is because we have a different connection with everyone, some of them are special while others may be casual.
The primary difference between a good friend and a best friend is emotional connection. It is not necessary that you feel a strong bond with everyone. Often, people who overshare and trust, fail to see the difference between a good friend and a best friend.
4) Intimate Friend/ Best Friend
Some friends are more special than others, you trust them and have a strong bond with them. The friends that you trust and love the most are usually your best friends or intimate friends.
A best friend is someone whom you trust blindly and can share your feelings without any hesitation. You may often find yourself going up to your most intimate friends during your difficult times because you trust them.
One of the best things about intimate friendships is that with them you have a constant support system. Additionally, a best friend is someone who will be there for you even in the most difficult time of your life, and vice-versa.
Also read: Online Friendships: Making Friends Beyond Borders
Why Is It Important To Understand The Stages Of Friendship?
The most important thing to remember in friendship is that not everyone is your intimate friend. Hence, sharing personal problems with anyone can backfire as oversharing with the wrong people may negatively impact how people think about you.
It takes time to build intimate friends with whom you can share personal things. Hence, it is important to understand which stage of friendship you are in before you open your heart to someone.
Conclusion
There are overall 4 stages of friendship that are:
a) Acquaintance
b) Casual Friend
c) Good Friend
d) Intimate Friend/ Best Friend
An acquaintance is someone you know at a superficial level and have and simply greet each other when you cross paths. On the other hand, a casual friend is someone you occasionally like hanging out with, but you may not share your feelings with them.
The next stage is becoming a good friend. A good friend is someone who you have a good bond with, it is similar to that of a best friend but the primary difference is the emotional depth. With an intimate friend, you know you can share anything with them without any fear of judgement, and you know your friend will be there for you. However, you don’t need to be comfortable sharing everything with a good friend.
Friendship is an important aspect of our life hence we must identify who is a good friend, a best friend, an acquaintance, or a casual friend. One must know the different stages of friendships because when we overshare our feelings with friends we may not be that close to, it can backfire.