Where does friendship begin?

Hi, there! Thank you for reaching out to us at BetterHelp. My name is Stacey Shine, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I read over the question you submitted and am hopeful that I can provide an answer and some clarity for you.

You asked the question of where does friendship start? I think this is a really good question that often time does not get answered and can lead to different problems socially. First, I think that friendship can start naturally and organically. It could be as simple as meeting someone at a supermarket and bonding over a shared interest in a certain food. You start talking, and a friendship is formed with no effort. This platonic friendship can grow and develop, but that takes some effort by one or both parties to initiate that bond going from a conversation with a stranger to building it into something such as friendship.  Secondly, I think that friendship can happen in a more arranged type of setting. You could have a friend invite you to meet someone new to you but familiar to them. You may have common interests and be in common social circles. This will allow time together and allow you to spend time together and invest more time into individually developing a friendship.  Thirdly, I think that friendship can happen without physical space involved. You can develop friendships even in virtual settings. It typically happens with that common bond or interest. It allows you to talk and begin to develop platonic emotions for someone. You do not necessarily have to see them and be in the same geographic location to develop and grow.

I think that the concept of friendship has changed quite drastically over the last ten years. Virtual spaces allow friendships to grow deeper and develop initially without ever physically seeing the other person in the same space. I hope this was a helpful way to look at friendship. If you have any issues developing new friendships, I will encourage you to sign up with us at Better Help and work on some of those skills. I wish you the best of luck!