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It’s getting harder to make friends but here’s how
Studies show that for many of us, our social circles have shrunk, yet support networks are crucial.
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Research suggests it takes 90 hours spent together to go from “casual” friend to “friend” and more than 200 hours to become “close” friends.
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It was to be a good meal for the six of us, our first get-together since 2020 when Covid-19 cast a shadow over our lives. The restaurant had all my favourite Peranakan dishes. And yet I felt a sense of trepidation, almost overriding my anticipation of a decadently rich beef rendang.
Like many people, young and old, I had got out of the habit of personal interaction after two years of Zoom meetings and WhatsApp chats. Since 2020, when we last met in person, there had been stresses at work, illness and family bereavements. I wasn’t sure if I could carry a conversation for an hour or more, let alone find the words to articulate how I felt about what we had gone through.
