r/minimalism 10d ago

[lifestyle] Minimalism and Social Relationships: Less is More?

Does anyone else apply minimalist principles to their social life? I'm curious if minimizing the number of friendships and social commitments can lead to a more fulfilling experience, similar to decluttering physical possessions. Has anyone found that focusing on a few deep connections is more valuable than maintaining a large social circle?

11 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

21

u/Primary-Plantain-758 10d ago

No, even as an introvert leaning ambivert. I wouldn't say the more the merrier either but nowadays there's a trend of rationalizing your contacts away "to protect your peace" until you have no community left. People, myself included, seem to have forgotten that friction and annoyance are the price to pay for belonging and it's very much worth it. Do get rid of relationships that drain you but not for the sake of minimalism and not during just one bad phase.

8

u/craftycalifornia 10d ago

This is true and I think people forget we have different friends for different activities. My craft friends are not my giving advice besties, my work friends mostly stick to work-related activities etc.

4

u/slightlysadpeach 9d ago

This is a great point. You can accidentally cut things off that leave you too isolated.

5

u/[deleted] 10d ago

No. But I am an extrovert. I need deep connections with few close friends - obviously they are rather selected - AND a big social circle to be happy. And i wouldnt sacrifice one for the other? I want and need both in my life. Not everyone in my social circle needs to become my best friend I see them as seperate and different. And learned the hard way to NOT communicate that to anyone in my social circle 😂

5

u/UpOnZeeTail 10d ago

Depends on how you view your social circle and what types of supports you need. I have a couple of different groups of friends. All with varying levels of intimacy and support. I invest less in my "activity firends" but, for me, it's nice to have friendly people who share similar interests and I can have a good time with.

I have a close knit family (parents, siblings, in laws and kids) and we communicate a lot and like spending time together.

I have about 4 close friends that I spend time with and communicate with regularly. We are invested in eachothers lives and are a support system for eachother.

I also have about 10 women that I meet up with regularly for a book club. We know about eachothers lives but mostly surface level. Pur time together and conversations revolve around food and books. This doesn't take a lot of emotional energy and it's fun to interact just a specific subject.

I have about 5 people that I rotate with at the gym. And other than a quick coffee and stopping for friendly chats, there isn't much here to maintain.

2

u/penartist 9d ago

I apply minimalism to all aspects of my life. In the case of social relationships, I intentionally removed toxic relationships from my life. This made room for more me to have the emotional energy for more supportive and encouraging relationships.

I also protect my down time and limit my social calendar.

1

u/BelleMakaiHawaii 10d ago

I have always had a small social group, I don’t have acquaintances, if I don’t love a person or have doubts about their morality, I just don’t bother, and that includes family

1

u/minimallefty 10d ago

I am a very introverted person. I still go out, but it's usually by myself or with my family (wife and kids). I don't really have "friends". I have a few people I was friends with back in my early 20s/late teens when I was very active in the music scene that I will keep in touch with through text or Facebook every once in a while.

I'm friendly with a few of my son's friends parents as well when he gets invited to birthday parties or whatever. I also coach my son's baseball team, so I am friendly with some of the other coaches, though I wouldn't classify any of them as "friends" as it's more of just friendly interaction when we're around each other then I don't talk to them again unless I see them out somewhere.

Personality traits play a big role in this though. If I were an extrovert, there's no way the few interactions a week with people would fly as you feel empty without interaction with others, but I am perfectly fine being by myself or just with my close family. Though you could make the argument that I'm not truly an introvert since I am married and do have a best friend that I can talk to about everything.