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how to make friends

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People who made friends as adults share how they did it.

Making friends as an adult is one of the most difficult parts of growing up. Having a healthy social life outside of work, marriage and family commitments can not only be a challenge, but one hard to even find.

In an online forum, member Spirited-Falcon-5102 posed the question to fellow adults trying to make friends: "How did you become friends with the friends you made as an adult?"

And people who have successfully made friends as adults spilled their experience to help others struggling. These are 19 real-life examples of how adults made friends as adults.

"A few through work, but almost all through hobbies." bossoline

"You have to go to a place where you can see potential friend candidates REGULARLY. Then strike up regular conversations with people there. Learn their names and their stories. Bring what I like to call PIE: Positivity, Interest in others and ENTHUSIASM. After you develop a rapport, invite them to do something with you OUTSIDE THE PLACE WHERE YOU KNOW THEM. That's how friendships begin." FL-Irish

"I’m made good acquaintances at bars, but we mostly stick to that environment. Volunteer work, on the other hand, has lead to some really solid friendships. Even though I’ve moved to a different state, I’m still in touch with many people I met because we valued the same cause and found other things in common." Emtreidy

"I wrote on a local facebook page for my area. 'Looking for a gym partner 4 days/week at nordic wellness. It's always easier to keep routine with friends right' A married woman about me age responded. I'm married too, 1 month later we are best friends tbh and they are coming over for dinner at our place." Accomplished_Tart832

"I wanted to have female friends that lived close to me because proximity is very important to me when it comes to friendship so I went on the nextdoor app in 2022 and I posted to my specific subdivision. I kept hosting things like bonfires, potluck taco Tuesday, morning walking groups, clothing swaps, dressed up brunches. Just whatever. Here we are in 2025 and we're still doing this. Some of the other women are hosting stuff now too- so it's not just me. The youngest in our group is 23 and the oldest is 61. And I would say at least three of the women in the group are actual friends now. As in, we hang out one-on-one sometimes and text each other regularly." blabber_jabber

"I bought a trailer in an RV park and I have made friends there. I also winter in Mexico , stay at the same place every year and I have made friends there. I’m am a 65 year old single woman." Landingonmyfeet

"Bumble BFF!" Mistress0fScience

"Join clubs. But not just any clubs. Join a club that has different levels of skill, where beginners will be thrown into one class. I joined a Krav Maga club in April and now I have a solid social circle, two of them I would already consider good friends, not 'just' friends. The other beginners didn't know too many people either, which made it quite easy to connect to them. But this didn't just happen. I went out of my way to get to know people. I introduced myself to everyone, which was weird at first, but less so later. I make sure to either pick up a topic we've been talking about last time or ask them how they're doing when I see them. Since then, for whatever reason, I also got to know other people. Mostly by joining other events. I volunteer at a sanctuary, but this is not as productive from a social networking standpoint. Clubs. That's where it's at. Make sure to be likeable though. Being shy and competent can easily look like arrogance. I know, it's weird, but that's what it can feel like from the outside." lookingforPatchie

"I started a family hiking group in the area about 10 years ago. At one point, my entire social network was made up of those families!" anniemaxine

"Work, local coffee shop, dog park, hobbies." Ok-Kick4060

"Oh, so so many. Quilting circles, crochet, cross stitch, book clubs, DnD, LARPing, community theater, church choir, fencing, board game groups, marathon conditioning groups, yoga, meditation, street racing, motorcycle gangs (not that I'm recommending those), cycling groups...Really just all sports. You wanna make friends fast? Go to the park with a basketball and see how many dudes in their 20s and 30s flock to you." Gamma_The_Guardian

"Through animal-related hobbies. Dogs, horses, cats… and politics." Difficult-Second3519

"I make new friends seemingly every few months. I just talk to people, am interested in them and I'm generous when I can be. There's no real common thread. Some are people I meet walking my neighborhood, others while I'm out in the world doing whatever." NemeanMiniLion

"They are the parents of my kids’ friends. We sat on the parent-bench for swim lessons or music class or whatever and chatted and became friends." North_Artichoke_6721

"Completely accidentally. Most because they were stubborn enough to persist 🤣." PuzzleheadedCat9986

"Bible studies!" Dede_dawn311

"We were both putting other people's carts back in the corral. We started talking about how lazy people are." SgtRudy0311Ret

"Oddly and humorously enough, my friends are a lot of relationships or fwbs that didn't work out in that way but we remained friends." Dapper-Lie-446

"Just last night I met up with someone I was chatting on Reddit with for a couple of days. We are both relatively new to our town. Exchanged numbers and it hit off. Met at a bar thought I’d be there for an hour maybe 90 minutes. Ended up spending 3 hours with him." AggressivePatience56

We can all take a page out of the preschool friendship-making handbook.

A lot of adults find it hard to make friends past a certain age, and science even confirms that forming friendship bonds as grownups is more challenging than when we were kids.

"Sociologists have kind of identified the ingredients that need to be in place for us to make friends organically, and they are continuous unplanned interaction and shared vulnerability," University of Maryland psychologist Marisa Franco told Boston NPR station, WBUR, adding that environments with those elements are harder to come by as adults.

"Continuous unplanned interaction" and "shared vulnerability" may sound daunting, but maybe we're just making it all too complicated.


As a sweet interaction captured between preschoolers shows, making friends doesn't have to be as hard as we make it. In fact, their conversation is pretty much a masterclass in friendship-making.

Check out this adorable budding friendship captured by mom Katy-Robin Garton and shared on her Instagram:

While most adults probably wouldn't feel comfortable asking a brand-new friend if they want to hold hands, the rest of the interaction contains some solid elements of building a relationship with someone.

First of all, research shows that walking together, especially in nature, makes conversation easier. And doesn't have to be in the beautiful Montana scenery of this video—just being outdoors in general helps.

Secondly, listen to how the kiddos ask and respond to questions. The little girl asked if the boy took naps (a totally a legit question for grownups to ask one another, by the way). But then she shared a bit about her family, tied it to a question about him and his age, and then built on his answer by sharing a bit more about herself. That kind of give-and-take is how people start getting to know each other.

And then, of course, the sweet compliment! "I like your glasses." So simple, but everyone loves a compliment. And the way she so graciously received it and with such self-assured confidence: "Me too." Now they've established that they share some tastes in common.

Finally, the "Ah, dog poop!" which is just funny. (But also, she's watching out for them both—friends gotta have one another's backs, right?)

Naturally, people are loving it.

"My god, these littles are glorious. My faith in the future of humanity has been restored 🌱🙌🏾💫💕🎆," wrote one commenter.

"They will literally have this same conversation when they’re 90. 'You take naps anymore?' 'You know you’re older than my cousin, he’s 93…,' 'I’m 93 and a half…'😂😂😂" shared another.

"I can’t even. The next time I try to make a new friend I’ll lead with “do you wanna hold my hand?” ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" wrote another.

Seriously, there's a lot we can learn from observing little ones who learn and connect without all the baggage we grownups often bring to the table. When it comes to friendship, perhaps we should take a page out of these preschoolers' book. They seem to have the basics pretty well figured out already.