What does a close friend mean for you?

January 7, 2016 3:55 pm

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If you check some definitions the term close friend can be

defined as somebody who you can talk about everything with,
who makes you feel comfortable without fear of judgment. A
close friend can also be someone who is always there for you,
caring about your well-being.
The concept friendship has a special significance in the whole
society around the world and probably everybody has a best

friend in his life. This term, which has been studied in academic
fields such as sociology, social psychology, anthropology and
philosophy, describes a relationship of mutual affection
between two or more people. In fact, one of the most
interesting conclusions obtained from a World Happiness
Database study, found that people with close friendships are
happier.
But Do these two nice words mean the same for everybody, in
each country, language and culture? The same word is used
every time but not with the same meaning. Why? The different
ways of understanding the term friend is connected with the
costumes, priorities and peoples lifestyle.
Being a close or best friend means a lot in some places like
Europe, India, China, Canada or Mexico. Friendship means so
much more in cities of these continents, even if they are located
far from each other on the map. A trusted person you treat like
family. Somebody you can be open with and relate to on
personal issues. And someone you dont need to invite home
because he or she is at any time allow into your house. These
are all good definitions for close friend in countries where
friendship is well respected and lived intensely.
In contrast, people use to have a different perception of the
words friend or close friends depending on their priorities
and different standards of living. For example, the behaviour
tends to be particularly shallow in some states of the USA,
where most of the time relationships and friendships are
established exclusively on Facebook. It is on this platform where
people talk each other and share comments and experiences. In
addition, they normally have a lot of calendar appointments and
full agendas with several meetings to discuss business issues. In
short, they mainly relate to each other in this space and
environment.
The truth is that the term friendship has had different
approaches over time based on cultural variations. Here are just
some examples: In Central Asia male friendships tend to be
reserved and respectful in nature. Germans typically have
relatively few friends, although their friendships typically last a

lifetime, as loyalty is held in high regard. In Islamic friendship is

also known as companionship or ashab. The concept is taken
seriously and numerous important attributes of a worthwhile
friend have emerged in Islamic media, such as the notion of a
righteous (or saalih) person. Additionally, it is believed that in
some parts of the Middle East (or Near East) friendship is more
demanding when compared with other cultures.
The conclusion is that you can have friends everywhere but the
relationship probably wont be always the same. The reason is
that being a close friend means different depending on the city.
The kind of friendship that we establish is directly connected
with our lifestyle. That why we use the term close friend to
refer to the kinds of relationships in different parts of the world.
Anyway, although there are many forms of friendship, some of
which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are
present in many types of friendship, such as sympathy,
empathy, honesty, altruism, mutual understanding and
compassion and trust.
While there is many ways of making friends and there is no
practical limits on what types of people can form a friendship,
friends generally tend to share common backgrounds,
occupations, or interests, and have similar demographics.