{"id":73575,"date":"2024-07-23T00:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T04:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=73575"},"modified":"2024-07-23T00:22:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T04:22:02","slug":"its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Millions of\u00a0Canadians are lonely<\/a>. This is worrisome because loneliness, defined by the World Health Organization as \u201cthe social pain of not feeling connected<\/a>,\u201d predicts both lower mental and physical health. Research shows that lacking a sense of social connection can pose an\u00a0equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To combat loneliness, people are commonly advised to seek out social connection. For many, this guidance brings to mind spending time with loved ones, such as close friends, family and romantic partners. But are there other people we can reach out to?<\/p>\n

In our research, recently published in\u00a0Communications Psychology<\/em>, we examined whether people have \u201cold friends\u201d \u2014 individuals that they care about but with whom they have lost touch \u2014 and\u00a0how easily these relationships can be rekindled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We found that certain strategies can help people reconnect \u2014 and, in new research, we are getting a sense that certain values and personality traits may make it easier for people to stay in touch far into the future.<\/p>\n

Millions of\u00a0Canadians are lonely<\/a>. This is worrisome because loneliness, defined by the World Health Organization as \u201cthe social pain of not feeling connected<\/a>,\u201d predicts both lower mental and physical health. Research shows that lacking a sense of social connection can pose an\u00a0equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To combat loneliness, people are commonly advised to seek out social connection. For many, this guidance brings to mind spending time with loved ones, such as close friends, family and romantic partners. But are there other people we can reach out to?<\/p>\n

In our research, recently published in\u00a0Communications Psychology<\/em>, we examined whether people have \u201cold friends\u201d \u2014 individuals that they care about but with whom they have lost touch \u2014 and\u00a0how easily these relationships can be rekindled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We found that certain strategies can help people reconnect \u2014 and, in new research, we are getting a sense that certain values and personality traits may make it easier for people to stay in touch far into the future.<\/p>\n

Reconnecting with old friends<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Across a series of seven studies, we found the majority of people reported having an old friend. Yet, when we asked over 400 participants how willing they would be to reach out to an old friend right now, most said they were neutral or unwilling. In fact, in one study, people reported being no more willing to reach out to an old friend than they were to talk to a stranger or pick up trash.<\/p>\n

This reluctance was observable in behaviour too. We conducted two experiments in which more than 1,000 people were given several minutes to draft and send a message to an old friend. Only 30 per cent sent the message to their old friend.<\/p>\n

Given that reaching out to an old friend could boost\u00a0feelings of social connection and happiness<\/a>, we tried designing interventions to encourage reaching out. For instance, we reminded participants that reaching out to an old friend was an act of kindness and that the recipient would appreciate it more than they realize. We also tried telling participants not to overthink it \u2014 to just send their message. Unfortunately, neither prompt was effective at encouraging more people to reach out.<\/p>\n

Reluctance to reconnect<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Why are people reluctant to reach out to old friends? There may be a number of reasons, including the possibility that old friends feel like strangers after time has passed. In one study with over 500 participants we asked people to list between three to five old friends, and tell us how close each one felt to them right now. The more unfamiliar an old friend felt, the less willing people were to reach out.<\/p>\n

Research has found that when people\u00a0practise talking to strangers for a week<\/a>, they become less anxious about it. If old friends can feel like strangers, might a similar strategy encourage people to reach out to old friends?<\/p>\n

To find out, we conducted an experiment in which we randomly assigned some people to complete a three-minute warm-up activity in which they messaged current family or friends. Other participants were randomly assigned to a control condition in which they simply browsed social media for three minutes instead.<\/p>\n

Afterward, all participants were given an opportunity to write and send a message to an old friend. While only 30 per cent of participants sent their message in the control condition, over 50 per cent did so after warming-up, suggesting that practising the behaviour that underlies reaching out may make this act easier.<\/p>\n

Personality traits<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We are extending this research in a number of new directions. For instance, in some newly conducted and unpublished research, we are examining whether people with certain personality traits or beliefs are more likely to send a message to an old friend.<\/p>\n

Responses from over 300 people suggest that people who are open to new experiences \u2014\u00a0one of the five key personality traits studied by psychologists<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 say they are willing to reach out to an old friend. Despite this inclination, our research found that highly open people do not necessarily communicate with old friends when given the chance.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, people\u2019s values and beliefs may be important determinants of whether they stay in touch. Our preliminary work shows that people who see friendship as a bond that does not easily break may be more likely to reach out than others.<\/p>\n

We hope this work helps normalize the fact that friendships can fade and be hard to rekindle. That said, with some practice, people can overcome this reluctance and hit \u201csend\u201d to potentially open a path to connection and less loneliness.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Lara B Aknin is Distinguished Professor of Social Psychology at Simon Fraser University, Gillian Sandstrom is Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology at the University of Sussex and Kristina Castaneto is a Master’s Student, Psychology also at Simon Fraser University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millions of\u00a0Canadians are lonely. This is worrisome because loneliness, defined by the World Health Organization as \u201cthe social pain of not feeling connected,\u201d predicts both lower mental and physical health. Research shows that lacking a sense of social connection can pose an\u00a0equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. To combat loneliness, people are […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[434178],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-73575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-friendship"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIt\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Millions of\u00a0Canadians are lonely. This is worrisome because loneliness, defined by the World Health Organization as \u201cthe social pain of not feeling connected,\u201d predicts both lower mental and physical health. Research shows that lacking a sense of social connection can pose an\u00a0equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. To combat loneliness, people are […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-23T04:22:02+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/reachingout.jpg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-23T04:22:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":983,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/reachingout.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"friendship\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/\",\"name\":\"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/reachingout.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-23T04:22:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/reachingout.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/reachingout.jpg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":368},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"Millions of\u00a0Canadians are lonely. This is worrisome because loneliness, defined by the World Health Organization as \u201cthe social pain of not feeling connected,\u201d predicts both lower mental and physical health. Research shows that lacking a sense of social connection can pose an\u00a0equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. To combat loneliness, people are […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2024-07-23T04:22:02+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/reachingout.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness","datePublished":"2024-07-23T04:22:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/"},"wordCount":983,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/reachingout.jpg","keywords":["friendship"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/","name":"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/reachingout.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-23T04:22:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/reachingout.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/reachingout.jpg","width":680,"height":368},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/its-hard-to-reach-out-to-old-friends-but-doing-so-may-help-alleviate-loneliness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It\u2019s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73575"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73583,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73575\/revisions\/73583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73575"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=73575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}