Friendship and
the Question of Age

When it comes to dating, most of us have strong feelings about the proper age difference between two people looking for a mate. The more liberal minded believe that “anything goes” (as long as its legal), while many people see a real problem when there’s a significant age difference between two lovers. The term “cradle robber” comes to mind.

But does a person’s age make a difference when it comes to friendship? Is it better for all of your friends to be within the same age group as yourself, or are their advantages to having friends both older and younger?

Diversity Is A Good Thing

Just like diversifying your portfolio gives you many different ways to increase your net worth, having friends for various age groups can help increase your happiness and better your life in ways you might not realize. Let’s see how that’s the case.

Friends Your Own Age

Of course there are many advantages to having friends that are close to your own age. No doubt you will have many things in common. You will have grown up listening to the same type of music, enjoying the same movies and other forms of entertainment. You will probably be at the same stage in life, be it in High School, college, well into your career, married with children, or ready for retirement. All of those similarities will give you plenty of experiences to base a friendship on.

Friendship With Older People

It has been stated that wisdom comes with age. That is the greatest advantage of having friends who have “been around the block” a few more times than you have. Are you a newlywed or a new parent? Have you just graduated from college and are now off to start a career? Making friends with people who are a few, or even several years your senior will allow you to take advantage of their experience and insights.

You'll also get the opportunity to talk to someone who has experienced periods in history you've only read about. My friend Melissa, who is several years my senior, actually went to Woodstock, and we've spend many hours talking about her wild, and often wacky, experiences. Karl, who is in his 60s, often fascinates me when he reminisces about the time he marched on Washington or the many sit-ins and protests he’s attended. He particularly loves to relate about the time he was hosed by police.

If I only had friends in my own age bracket, what great times I would have missed out on, and I can think of a few life lessons I might have had to learn the hard way.

Friendship With Younger People

Do you want to recapture some of your youth? Friendship with younger people can do that for you. It also gives you the opportunity to share your knowledge with someone less experienced. There’s nothing more satisfying then helping someone else avoid your mistakes. Of course sharing is a two way street. My younger friends help me keep up with all the latest trends in music, fashion and the like.

So having friends both older and younger than you has several benefits. Don't miss out on all the great friendships you can have by looking beyond your own generation.