Is there a difference between friends and acquaintances?

Short answer: yes. In most cases, an acquaintance is likely someone you have only met briefly and maybe don’t know very well, whereas a friend is often a person you probably see regularly and know fairly well. For example, a friend is someone you can rely on to be there for you in the middle of the night, however you may not feel comfortable reaching out to an acquaintance in the same instance. Mary and Sienna discuss some ways to spot friends over acquaintances.

Are some people meant to stay acquaintances?

So, you’ve hit it off big time with this new person, but after a while trying to transition them from being just an acquaintance to a true, blue friend, it’s clear that things aren’t working. First things first: don’t panic! Most of the people we meet in our lives never move past beyond acquaintance stage, so try not to be too hard on yourself if things don’t pan out the way you had hoped. Try to remember that acquaintances can be a good thing! And who knows? Maybe sometime in the future you’ll be able to bridge that gap.

Tips for turning acquaintances into friends

Firstly, if you’re set on turning an acquaintance into a friend you’ll need to do a little self reflection and see if you have any unapproachable qualities. Perhaps you feel nervous around new people or you’re never the first person to initiate conversation. Make a list of ways that you would improve and then just fake it ’til you make it! Mary and Sienna talk about being reliable, generous, and how to have more meaningful conversations.

Resources

• The Differences Between Acquaintances, Friends, Best Friends & Soul Mates by Christopher Hudspeth for Thought Catalog.
• Turning Acquaintances Into Friends By Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D. for Psych Central.
• 12 Questions to Help You Decipher Between Friends vs Acquaintances by Kris Wolfe for Good Guy Swag.

Tune in next week for Episode 17: Work Friends

Do you have a story about friendship? Good, bad, or ugly — we wanna hear it! Click here to learn more about submitting your story and you might just hear it in a future episode or featured on the blog!

Hosted by Mary Akemon and Sienna Mooney
Produced by Alex Papworth
Music by Max Wallace
Episode illustration by Maddy Vian