What are guy friendships? Do you have guy friends? Are you in a guy friendship? Do you find it hard to make guy friends who are not your co-workers? Are you interested in finding the right guy friendships? Do you find yourself in more female friendships than guy ones? Finally, are you looking for information on how guy friendships work? If your answer is yes to any or all of these questions, this article is for you.
Hi. My name is Sean Galla, a facilitator for guy friendship groups like men support groups, men’s forums, and men’s groups. In my line of work, I create a platform where men can meet other men in a safe environment that allows them to nurture guy friendships. I have seen firsthand how important it is for every man to have friends.
In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about making guy friends and joining male friends groups.
Table of Contents:
Why Guy Friendships Are Difficult?
When it comes to friendships, most men, especially straight men, have difficulty really understanding the actual meaning of having friends.
Simply put, male friends are guys with whom you share a mostly platonic friendship instead of romantic relationships. Therefore, if you have one or a few guy friends, it can be said that you are in a guy friendship.
Close male friends share a sense of brotherhood in little things. For example, they often spend time in a group setup where they share, learn and explore together. As a result, they have a deep level of connection that is different from what is found in a romantic relationship.
Sometimes, male friends have an unspoken or spoken commitment to one another, including being there for each other emotionally. Close male friendships accommodate and encourage vulnerability around one other.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for ideas about Bro Date, then join mensgroup.com today!
Why Men Need Guy Friendships?
While some men can have tons of guy friends, others have a hard time making friends in general. As a man gets older, you tend to retain a few male friends with hardly the chance to make new ones. Yet, according to research, men still crave intimacy in friendships, just as women do.
All humans are social creatures. We are born to socialize and live in a community. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, everyone can benefit from interpersonal connections and camaraderie to get emotional support when you need it.
Research shows that it has become increasingly difficult to make meaningful friendships or even retain old ones in this growing digital age.
For most men, it becomes harder to meet people, maintain long-term friendships or emotional intimacy with other men, and even harder to keep old friends.
Friends act as accountability partners. Sociologists claim that people are more likely to achieve a goal when they are held accountable. So when you have a bestie, they follow up on your progress to achieve your goals because they want the best for you.
Lack of friends causes loneliness.
Not having close friendships is not advisable as it leads to prolonged loneliness, which affects a man’s emotions, cognition, health, and behavior. Moreover, the lack of a close-knit group of male friends or even a best friend causes physiological aging in men.
Loneliness is one of the greatest threats to men’s health. Most men have a hard time admitting that they are lonely or need more male friends because growing up, most men were never taught the importance of having a close group of male friends. But, according to scientific research, loneliness can trigger signal hormones and molecules that dictate human behavior, lasting effects on men’s mental health.
Lack of friends is bad for your health.
Emotional isolation is one of the leading causes of lifestyle vices and diseases like obesity, smoking, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, tumors, high blood pressure, and other neurodegenerative behaviors detrimental to a man’s wellbeing.
Having a group of people, you can call good friends gives you access to continuous wellness support whenever you need it. It also helps in fighting social anxiety by learning to be around people more often.
From a young age, making friends as a young man comes more naturally. However, as boys grow older, especially in high school, fear takes over and affects their effortless ability to make male friends. When a man gets into late adolescence, most young men lose their close friends because being part of a group of guy friends is believed to be gay, girly, or immature.
At this stage, young men start to focus more on ensuring they do not come off as gay men, which is often associated with close male friendships, instead of making lasting male friendships, building social connections, and spending time with their friends, which often causes them to let go of their closest friendships.
It can cause toxic masculinity.
When young men ignore the need for male friends or social networks, it often leads to a generation of emotionally stoic, autonomous, and isolated adult males with personal issues.
These men try to live up to societal expectations and beliefs about what a man is and how a male friendship should look. Men have been programmed to believe that they are not allowed to be vulnerable, show emotions, or allow people to get too close to them. This forces them to lead a lonely life away from healthy men’s friendships.
How to Form Guy Friendships?
Be approachable
When hoping to make new guy friends, you need to possess a level of approachability. When in a social setup, smile at other people and nod in greeting. Ensure your body language remains relaxed, which signals that you are open to conversation and new friendships.
Be knowledgeable in a variety of topics.
You find certain things easy to talk about, while others are a big deal and do not come naturally to you. To make friends and keep them, you need to be conversant with issues that are of interest to men. This can include sports, politics, economics, memes, video games, and even cars. This will make it easier for you to start conversations and keep them interesting, regardless of the men you meet.
Be interested in knowing new people.
You are more likely to keep someone interested when you shoe interested in getting to know them. You can ask open-ended questions about his interests and himself as a person. When you get to know him, they will also be interested in getting to know you. While at it, avoid questions that only call for yes or no answers and instead ask questions that engage them more.
Always be honest
Honesty is one of the most valuable traits in friendships. It is important to show your potential new friends the real you as this is the person they are interested in. do not pretend to be someone you are not as it will eventually come out, and you’ll have a hard time living up to expectations.
Attend meetups and hangouts
Once you hit it off with a man you want to make your friend, you can invite them for another hangout session away from the current setting. You can make them feel included by tagging them along for events and meetups. You can let him know he is welcome to join you.
The Best Places to Make Guy Friendships
Sometimes, the easiest way to make guy friends is by joining a male friends group on social media or online. Joining a men’s group ensures you build friendships that meet your needs from the start. In addition, male friend groups ensure you meet like-minded men who share your interests, ideas, and plans.
Everyman
This benefit corporation brings together men from all walks of life to space to freely exercise their emotions to lead a fulfilling and successful life. Everyman uses life-coaching, events, and retreats as part of their service delivery to allow men to be themselves in a natural habitat.
Guy Burstein
Guy Burstein is a self-help forum that encourages healing, growth, and transformation. It is specifically created for men who want to achieve a higher self-awareness and anyone looking to cultivate better personal male relationships or Bromance.
Men’s Group
Men’s Group is a guy friendships group that creates and facilitates conversations between guys who are interested in personal growth. A big part of our group focusses on creating discussions and friendships through our thriving forums, drop-in groups, and online men’s groups that help guys grow and give them the social time they want.
Men’s Group is an online-based support group and forum that focuses on men and the needs of a lot of men. It offers a platform where men from different parts of the world get together to discuss everyday real men issues that affect men’s well-being.
Since it is an online-based friends group for men, you can join a meeting from the comfort of your home or office. Mensgroup ensures there are regular meetings online to ensure men can get the support they need at any time, whether you are an American in New York or European in London, especially now that it is harder to meet face to face for physical meetings.
Conclusion
If you are interested in making guy friends, it is time to put in the work to cultivate the friendship and make it what you and your new best friend want it to be. First, join a fraternity or a men’s group to increase your chances of making new male friends. Mensgroup is one of the best places to make friends with whom you share common interests, goals, and ideas.
*Sources: 1. Qualities That Promote Male Friendship 2. Are male friendships harder? 3. Male friendships: Implications from research for family therapy 4. Male friendships, their importance, and how to develop them 5. The Importance of Male Friendship, Man Dates, and Vulnerability
