Every seven years you shed about half your friendships and acquire new ones

The other seven-year itch - THE WEEK:

June 19, 2009

"The other seven-year itch

Every seven years, a new study finds, you shed about half your friendships and acquire new ones. Though your best friend may seem like your permanent confidant, there’s only a 30 percent chance that you will be that close to the same person seven years from now. As for the rest of your friends, only 48 percent will still be a regular part of your life in 2016. It’s not that most of us are fickle or disloyal, says Dutch sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst, who conducted the study of more than 1,000 people over seven years. It’s simply that people come together in “friendship networks” mostly out of circumstance and context; when they move away, switch jobs, and experience other major life changes, bonds become attenuated and often dissolve. At the same time, new contexts and new people lead to new friendships. We’d all like to believe we’ve chosen friends and mates because of some inherent affinity, Mollenhorst tells ScienceDaily.com, but the reality is that happenstance and sheer proximity play a big role."

What Are Friends for? A Longer Life

Well - What Are Friends for? A Longer Life - NYTimes.com:

"In the quest for better health, many people turn to doctors, self-help books or herbal supplements. But they overlook a powerful weapon that could help them fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life: their friends.

Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health. A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.... in many studies, friendship has an even greater effect on health than a spouse or family member."