Your Friends Don’t All Have to Be the Same Age
When you think of your closest friends, who comes to mind? Perhaps the college roommate you used to confide in while the two of you lay on your twin beds. Maybe the co-worker from your first job with whom you’d debrief and laugh after every meeting, or the neighbor you played with as a child. Regardless of how you met these people, they likely have one key thing in common: They’re all roughly the same age as you.
Most Americans don’t seem to have much age diversity in their friendships. A found that, for a group of young adults ages 21 to 30, more than 80 percent of the people in their social circles, not counting relatives, were born. Spending our time with such a narrow group of people can and isolate us—a concerning prospect at a moment when say they feel lonely for much of the day. These limitations also keep us from other generations’ perspectives and potentially surprising points of connection. Younger pals can be a reminder of past selves; older friends can offer a glimpse into the future. Having fun with someone decades older or younger than you can take off the pressure to “act one’s age,” whatever that means. We should all make more friends of different generations.
