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Friendship

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Painting of three women, one holding a hat, standing on a bridge with a blurred landscape in the background.

Emotions

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For young people, emotions are highly contagious social viruses

Like viruses, our internal mental states are socially transmissible, and it’s easier to catch happiness than depression

by Jack Andrews

Two women with braided hair sitting on a park bench, smiling and engaging in conversation. One faces the camera, while the other is seen from behind.

Friendship

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For Beauvoir, it’s friendship that lets us become truly ourselves

For Simone de Beauvoir, friendship, even more than love, was the means to overcome the tragedy of our radical separation

by Skye C Cleary

Two people sit at a table with coffee cups, near a window overlooking a rainy scene with parked cars and trees in the background.

Worry and rumination

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Rehashing your problems with friends can turn into a bad habit

Although ‘co-rumination’ bolsters relationships in some ways, it also distracts from other, better coping methods

by Shayla Love

Three older men in cheerful mood are inside a bar or pub with painted red walls

Friendship

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Is it better to have friends who are like you or different from you?

Studies of longterm friends offer surprising insights as to whether friends who are more or less alike tend to endure

by Christian Jarrett

Photo of a man with a beard wearing a black shirt that has “NO VAX” in large white letters appliquéd on it.

Communication and language

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Why you shouldn’t shrink from challenging your loved ones’ views

Care is warranted when arguing with friends and family. But you can be respectful and still point out the flaws in their views

by Matt Ferkany

Photo of an outdoor market with fruit stalls, a masked man carrying bags and two people in green vests walking past.

Friendship

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Empathic friends can provide the right kind of peer pressure

Research on empathy development in adolescents suggests an under-appreciated potential for positive peer influence

by Marta Miklikowska & Lauree Tilton-Weaver

Marble relief sculpture of eleven ancient figures in draped clothing, showcasing detailed expressions and intricate designs.

Friendship

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Horace’s lyrics of friendship offer hope to our troubled world

In the poetics of Horace, friendship is the best way to seek the good life even in the midst of crises beyond our control

by Stephanie McCarter

Photo of eight varied stone doughnut-shaped artefacts on a blue background with a 5 cm scale bar.

Rituals and celebrations

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Far-flung ancient communities forged bonds through broken rings

What can the fragments of Neolithic slate rings found in Finland tell us about social relationships 6,000 years ago?

by Marja Ahola, Elisabeth Holmqvist & Petro Pesonen