Family and Friends

lahalane

People measure these things very differently. Some have broad descriptions and some would only count a few.

How many people would you consider to be your family and friends?

What are your definitions of both categories?

If Facebook and my family tree were anything to go by Id have hundreds of people fitting the description but I would only count the following as my family; parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and first cousins. These are the people I care about and grew up with.

With friends its trickier. I know a lot of people that I get on with but wouldnt come to them for help or share my feelings with them. I dont know what category theyd fit under but the number of true friends I have is about 8.

It would be 10 but the other two fit under my family bracket instead.

I suppose it depends on how you define both words...or if you even think about stuff like this. Maybe Im just weird

Amirani

Dunbar's number suggests that the maximum number of stable relationships that a person can maintain is 150. Dunbar is wrong, I have 10,000 facebook friends.

The Backwards Man

One.

lkionm

NiallSparky wrote: »

Dunbar's number suggests that the maximum number of stable relationships that a person can maintain is 150. Dunbar is wrong, I have 10,000 facebook friends.

Maximum is 5000. I should know. My mother sasha grey has that many.

lkionm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

One.

Your dog dosent count

donvito99

Do boardsies count?

lahalane

Dogs and Boardsies count as long as they meet your definition of friend or family. I can't speak for Boardsies but there have been pets Ive had that have meant more to me than certain people. I don't class them as friends though because they were terrible at keeping secrets...

131spanner

Family are the people I grew up with. Parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents etc. To me, blood is thicker than water.

Friends can vary. It can be somebody you know with years and trust and confide in, or somebody you sit beside for a lecture or lunch-break.

pharmaton

I'd only count a few, obviously immediate family being parents and siblings although the older I get the more I value my own family (me, my daughter my dog, two goldfish and a canary) in terms of who I'm closer to. As for friends, there are the ones who I can call on when going for a beer, there's the one I would have told things no one else knows but rarely feel the need these days and there's the ones who I'm currently not bothered to answer their calls or texts because they bring nothing but misery and boredom to my life. and I wish they would go away. When working there's people there too but I'd class them as colleagues and not friends. Oh and there's also people I'd know through sporting societies but wouldn't socialise with otherwise so not really friends. Thats about the most of my facebook in a nutshell there. I'm not very close to a lot of people (although I know one person who considers me to be their closest friend if that makes sense but I legitimately don't feel that close to him at all)
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank boards grammar nazi's for helping me pass a literacy exam that I had earlier this week. We're not friends now but almost as good as.

Ericaa

Family are the ****ers I didn't get a choice in knowing or not.

karareilly

I really only count myself in having 4 people that i truly could turn to no matter what. the rest are people i just know.

jimgoose

You can pick your nose, you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family. Having said that much, family are your blood relatives and/or the people you grow up with. We've got a few arseholes in our extended crew, but I rub along fine with most of them. I have a small group of crack troops that I call friends. Quite a few acquaintances, but the Special Forces are the guys who count. Mind you, it's a bit of a dose busting yer man out of the mental every time... :cool:

danniemcq

NiallSparky wrote: »

Dunbar's number suggests that the maximum number of stable relationships that a person can maintain is 150. Dunbar is wrong, I have 10,000 facebook friends.

Spam accounts don't count

caustic 1

Family is hubs, kids etc., I have one friend who I count as true friend would go to ends of earth for, others are acquaintances.

cotswolds

Both are pointless to be fair.

Unless somebody agrees with everything you say and do then they are not with the hassle.

You don't have to put up with either to have a happy existence.

wuzziwig

Family to me is my kids, my parents, my siblings, their partners and their kids. I have a few 1st cousins that I get on well with and we meet for a drink every so often but we wouldn't be awfully close.

I have 3 very close friends. They have stood by me through the sh1t times and I can tell them anything. I also know that they'll drop anything to help me if I need them. My best friend died last December and I miss her every day. Then you have the friends that you go out with every now and then, or meet for lunch etc but they wouldn't necessarily know what was going on with you or you them.