20  Benefits of keeping people as Acquaintances

There are great benefits in keeping people as acquaintances rather than as close friends.

Often, we are eager to want to outrightly call a person we either barely know or have been in touch with for a period of time a friend even when we know few details about them.

And we mean it because we take them too seriously and expect so much from them without even knowing what they think about us.

We call them friends because we speak to them regularly. But then we sometimes forget that the word ‘friend; can be used in generic terms to express the unspoken relationships between two persons. For instance, an acquaintance is also a friend. 

We call them friends but when we want to emphasize the type of friends they are we could say that they are just an acquaintance.

This is true for people who understand the difference. But some people believe that everyone they meet and speak to frequently is a ‘friend’. Even when they are laying emphasis they do not recognize that there are acquaintances that are not friends.

How do you know who your acquaintance is?

Acquaintances can be people you know casually, such as coworkers, classmates, or people you meet through shared interests or activities, but you don’t necessarily have a close relationship with them.

But there is a way to differentiate a friend from an acquaintance. The easiest way we see you can differentiate one from the other is based on your definition of the word ‘friend’.

Let’s not get it twisted. The generic definition of the word ‘friends’ in the dictionary is there for you to choose from. 

But going by the dictionary definition without believing it or applying it to your personal belief system and who you are as an individual will not do justice to you differentiating a friend from an acquaintance.

So ask yourself this – What is your personal definition of the word ‘friend’? A definition that speaks to your belief, your values, and interest in life. What do you see in people before you term them, ‘a friend’? 

What characteristics must someone possess to be called your friend and of what category of friend would you classify the person to be in?

Once you can get your definition and characteristic of a person whom you will term a friend, then every other person you meet who doesn’t fall within that category becomes an acquaintance.

What the Dictionary has to say about an Acquaintance

Let’s look at what the Oxford dictionary says about the word acquaintance’ – a person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend.’

Examining this definition, we can see that they added the word ‘close friend’ at the end of the definition.

This simply means that a person can be close to you and still not be a friend just like a person can be your friend and still not be close to you. You need to think a bit deeper to comprehend it fully.

For instance, a coworker whom you see every day can be close to you but still not termed your friend.

We have friends whom in our hearts we know are our friends but we are not close to them in any manner. 

For this set of people, you could do anything for them and pull strings for them because of how much love you share with them. 

But still, you are not close to these people, but somehow they fall into your definition of the word friend.

That is to say that they are not close to you but are great friends you cherish. They understand what is required of them as friends.

Acquaintances are people who are really not close to us in the heart. And when we say that ‘by defining who your friend is, you have defined who your acquaintance is’.

Because people in your life can only be one of both.

People who are your Acquaintances can be people with whom you go out but are not within your definition of the word ‘friend’. 

You could be hanging out with them because they are the available people around you. If you change location, the chances are that you will totally forget them. 

This is because to you they were never friends but acquaintances, but time and chance made the relationship between you both look like friends when you truly were not.

Benefits of Keeping people as Acquaintances 

Some advantages come with keeping people as acquaintances. We will look at some of them.

1. Lower Obligation to share in their problems

One of the many benefits of keeping people as acquaintances are in the obligations that come with close friends.

Friendship comes with a lot of obligations. A lot of duties are required when it comes to being close friends with people. 

When you have a close friend who is going through a situation – it could be an emotional or financial challenge, you as a friend have a duty to them as a close friend.

One of such duties is to check up on them to find out what exactly the problem is. 

Additionally, you are also expected to share in their problem by helping them think of possible solutions or give advice as to how you believe should be the best approach to solving such a problem. 

In most cases, you are expected to go out of your way to find the solution or even sacrifice your time, money, and energy to make sure you help them get back on their feet. 

This is an unspoken obligation and many more expected of a close friend which is quite different when the person is an acquaintance.

When it comes to an acquaintance, chances are that you may never know that they are passing through a lot because they are not close to you and they may never feel the need to tell you even when they know that you may have a solution. 

The reason is that they wouldn’t know what your response or reaction would be towards them because you have no obligation to them. 

To them, your mind or response may be like, ‘but why are you telling me this? don’t you have close friends or relations that can help you out?’ 

These reflexes are unspoken in a way because they are not written rules for anyone to follow. They are just written in our minds without our permission and we go ahead to execute them in real time.

This obligation being silently taken away is one of the many benefits that come with keeping people as acquaintances.

2. Consistent positivity

Consistent positivity is one of the benefits that come with keeping people as acquaintances in the sense that more focus is put on being on maintaining a good and simple relationship with an acquaintance.

This simply means that because you got no duties or obligations to them, you can never be too careful not to offend them in any way. Every day is any day and any day is every day between you and them when you see them.

You somehow always feel good about your relationship with them as you are almost always on good terms with them.  This means that the relationship you have with them is smooth sailing.

With acquaintances, you have a mutual understanding and respect for each other any day any time because you got nothing to hold each other to as to why you should have a misunderstanding. 

Everyone is on their lane living their lives until someday you meet again to share another ‘Hi’ that might reoccur again after maybe a 4 years time when nature brings you in contact with them again.

In fact, you can call them to assist you with something without having any entitlement attached that they must come through for you because they are not in that category as your close friends and so owe you no duties.

3. Lower expectations of you

Another one of the various benefits of keeping people as acquaintances is the fact that expectations are generally on the low side.

When you categorize some people in your life as acquaintances, the relationship is less intimate. Generally, the expectations are automatically lowered on both sides, which can help keep things low-stress.

In most cases, acquaintances expect nothing from you. But because humans are emotional beings, we wouldn’t rule out the fact that there might be little expectations.

But when compared to friends, expectations from acquaintances are insignificant. 

They do not go around thinking that if they fail that you will be there to pull them out because they know that you wouldn’t even show up. 

So they live their lives within the limits that they should handle without involving you in their plans. When you have people as acquaintances, you will have an expectation mentality from them in any way, and too would have none for you.

4. Avoiding social pressure

By keeping people as acquaintances, you can avoid feeling pressure to conform to certain social norms or expectations that may come with a close friendship. 

This is a silent big one on the benefits that come with keeping people as acquaintances.

The moment you decide that a certain person is your close friend, and if it happens that the person is a known public figure even with the lowest grade of exposure at the local level, you may be pressured into showing up in public in support of them. 

This happens even when you hate public exposure and you love to stay low-key on your own. 

In other cases, it might not require that you support them, but it might require that you dress in a way that allows you to represent them as their friend even when you are not in their class. 

That pressure is eliminated once you have people close to you as acquaintances. 

There is no attachment and no pressure of any kind because neither of you truly cares or gives a second to think about how people perceive you two for not being together or representing each other. 

The reason is that you two do not exist as a unit in the first place so why should there be any social pressure and expectations from people on you two?

5. Keeping things light – Greater Privacy 

One of the sweetest benefits you get by keeping people as acquaintances is that you can keep things light and fun without the need to delve into deeply personal issues or emotions that may come with a close friendship.

With close friends, if you fail to share your secret with them, they begin to question your friendship with them. 

There is nothing light about it because you have to go full-blown, or else you risk cracking the relationship you share with them. They want to know your personal problems even the most private ones. 

You can not say things on the surface and just leave it at that and walk away. 

Walking away without giving the full story might mean walking away from the friendship. With acquaintances, that is easily done and no one will ask questions or try to push you to say more than you have already said or more than you want to say.

With acquaintances, you may maintain a level of privacy and distance that you might not be able to with close friends. This is because there may be less of an expectation for personal information to be shared.

For what it may seem, some people do not have too many close friends but have a lot of acquaintances around them. 

These kinds of persons are able to bottle up their secrets without letting a third party have a sneak peek into their lives and it comes with less pressure because they have no obligation to the acquaintance.

6. Avoiding burnout

Again, avoiding burnout is one of the benefits derived from keeping people as acquaintances But how is that?

By maintaining a broad network of acquaintances, you can avoid feeling burnt out from the demands of a close friendship. 

Spending time with an acquaintance can in a way provide a temporary distraction from work and life-related stressors thereby helping you to recharge your batteries.

This can go a long way to help your current state of mind. Having discussions with people with who you share no deep connection, at the moment might be what your mind needs to stay at peace with itself. 

They may serve as a gateway for you to get away from too many issues without putting your emotions out. 

7. Few or No Communication gaps issues  

In fact, communication is a sort of task and obligation for close friends, and it’s one of the benefits of keeping people as acquaintances that you have no worries about the communication gap for any reason because no one feels the other should check up on them.

Communication is like the lifeline of friendship to an extent that once there is a communication gap or the point where everything goes cold between two close friends, it begins to seem as though the friendship is lost even when it isn’t.

In fact, communication is a sort of task and obligation for close friends. If you fail to call your close pal for two days, you begin to feel that you have offended them and you will begin to have a sweaty palm just because of that.

This is exactly where an acquaintance excels greatly. 

Keeping in touch is unnecessary as an acquaintance expects nothing from you as they would if you were a close friend. You have no worries about the communication gap for any reason because no one feels the other should check up on them.

8. Predictable behavior with Acquaintances

One of the benefits of keeping people as acquaintances is that with an acquaintance, you don’t get totally surprised or disappointed when they act out of place. 

With them, there is a reduced risk of betrayal with acquaintances because you expect everything and anything from them, unlike close friends whom you have specific things you expect them to do and not to do when it is an issue concerning you.

Close friends can sometimes betray your trust, whereas acquaintances are less likely to because there is probably no such thing as trust in the equation.

9. Less Emotional Investment 

Having less emotional investment is one of the benefits one gains by keeping people as acquaintances.

You do not have much emotional commitment to knowing an acquaintance. Having people as acquaintances rather than friends can help with less emotional investment because the level of intimacy and emotional attachment is typically lower.

The reason is that we share a casual or superficial relationship with them, whereas with friends we have a deeper and more meaningful connection.

When we interact with acquaintances, we may share some interests or engage in light conversation, but we don’t typically confide in them or rely on them for emotional support.

With acquaintances, there is often less pressure to maintain a close relationship or to invest a lot of time and energy into the relationship. 

This saves us from a lot of mental stress, thereby making our emotional minds sane to an extent.

10. Friendly, but not friends

One of the most common benefits of keeping people as acquaintances is that you can be friendly with them without being their friends.

That is to say that you are friends with them without actually being friends.

This simply means that you can speak to them as people you know, and hang out with them once in a while as your time permits but inside your heart of hearts, they do not pass to be called your friends as they do not conform with your personal definition and characteristics that come with being your friend. 

But then you look at them as the acquaintance kind of friends you know. You still add value to their life at your free will when you can, but they are not close to sharing in your personal life struggles and you do not share in theirs as well.

11. Greater Freedom and flexibility

Having more acquaintances allows you to have a greater sense of freedom and flexibility in terms of socializing and making plans.

With acquaintances, you have greater freedom over how and with whom you spend your time rather than close pals. 

With them, It’s okay to choose to interact socially on your own terms without feeling obligated to uphold a tight bond or fulfill their expectations. 

There is frequently an unwritten expectation of regular interaction and socializing with friends, which can occasionally feel like an obligation.

With acquaintances, there’s often more flexibility in terms of how often you interact or what you do together, which can be useful if you have a busy schedule.

12. Fewer Conflicts and Drama

With acquaintances, the tendency of having heated conflicts is minimal because you may feel it’s a waste of time to have some kind of conversation with people you do not have a connection with.

At this point, it becomes a question of why should you get emotional or serious or disappointed with them. 

Of course not, except in special cases where your emotions get a better part of you.

Conversions with close friends on the other hand can sometimes lead to heated conflicts or disagreements because you either love or trust them too much to expect them to not understand a situation the way you feel they should. 

In this case, you want to talk about it to the last of it and so you can disagree and fight over a thing because you are connected to them emotionally.

This is why there are just a few people that should have the power to get you angry and pissed in life.

13. Helping is Voluntary with acquaintances

With acquaintances, helping is voluntary. This is one of the benefits of keeping people as acquaintances that allows people not to get involved in things they may not be capable of handling.

Being wonderful as it is, if you decide not to help, no one holds it against you.

Unlike when the person is your close friend, you may be forced to go out of your way to even borrow in a case where you do not have the funds to assist just so that you show them that you care while possibly putting yourself in debt. 

Once the person is an acquaintance, you helping them comes freely out of the abundance of your heart and at your own will.

When it comes to acquaintances, you may feel less obligated to help and may be more likely to consider the cost-benefit of the situation. 

For example, if an acquaintance asks for a ride to the airport, someone may weigh the inconvenience of providing the ride against the social benefit of maintaining a positive relationship with the acquaintance.

It is just what it is, and this is quite different when the person is a close pal.

With close friends, you may feel a stronger sense of duty to help and may be more likely to prioritize their needs over yours. 

This could be due to a variety of factors, such as a stronger emotional bond, a history of mutual support, or a shared sense of loyalty.

14. Unplanned and Unexpected Surprises

Because you do not expect anything from acquaintances,  at their will, they can surprise you by turning up for you when you least expect even when those you expect to turn up fail. This is a possibility and a probability.

This here is the fun you can derive from having acquaintances. They are likely to show up in your life when you least expect them to. It could be during a difficult situation and they may be the ones to pull you out of a hole.

Imagine not knowing them in the first place. Close friends are great, acquaintances are like the species you require in your life. They make it feel bigger in a way you may not be able to explain.

Acquaintances can sometimes surprise you with unexpected opportunities or connections that you would have otherwise missed out on. 

For example, an acquaintance may mention a job opening at their company that would be a perfect fit for you, or introduce you to someone who shares a common interest or hobby. 

Additionally, having a diverse group of acquaintances can provide a broader range of perspectives and experiences, which can be valuable in both personal and professional settings. 

Even though you may not know your acquaintances as well as your close friends, they can still have a positive impact on your life and be a valuable source of support when you least expect it.

15. Fewer grudge-keeping scenarios with acquaintances

There are likely fewer chances of grudge keeping with an acquaintance compared to with close friends. This is a benefit Benefit on keeping people as acquaintances that helps to keep the mind focused.

You may be less likely to hold grudges against acquaintances or strangers because there is a less emotional investment in your relationship with them than you would if it is a close friend. 

You may likely be more willing to forgive and let go of minor transgressions from acquaintances because you may not want to create unnecessary conflict or tension.

It is more likely that more people will disregard issues with an acquaintance for their self-happiness than they would do if the person is a close friend.

That being said, there are individual differences in how people handle grudges and forgiveness. While some people may hold grudges with acquaintances just as strongly as they would with close friends. It ultimately depends on the individual’s personality, values, and past experiences.

16. Lower time commitment

Generally speaking, there is a lower time investment and commitment with close friends compared to an acquaintance. 

Of course, there are cases where this may not be the case as our acquaintances may be found at our workplace and social gathering we sure spend a lot of time in these places. 

This case of lower time commitment is more of a psychological time commitment rather than a physical one. Though it combines both in harmony to speak of when it is a close friend.

Speaking of physical time commitment, it is more likely for us to spend more time out with our close friends than we would ever do with an acquaintance because it is like an unspoken obligation. 

Spending more time with our close friends is what we carry around in our heads that we intend to do once we meet with them.  That is spending and sharing meaningful quality time.

This also can be seen in how many times you communicate with them per day via phone calls or chats.

You don’t have to spend as much time with acquaintances as you do with friends, so you can maintain a larger network of people without feeling overwhelmed.

17. Broader social circle 

By keeping people as acquaintances, you can expand your social circle beyond just close friends, which can be useful for networking or finding new opportunities.

Acquaintances tend to be more casual and less emotionally demanding. This can make it easier to have a larger social circle with them, as there is less pressure to maintain a certain level of intimacy or commitment

Acquaintances can be useful for networking, as they may be able to introduce you to new people.

Having a broader social circle is one of the benefits of keeping people as acquaintances.

18. Easier to set boundaries

When it comes to setting boundaries with acquaintances versus close friends, there can be some differences in how easy or difficult it is to do so.

With acquaintances, it can be easier to establish and enforce boundaries, since the relationship isn’t as deeply rooted. 

One reason why it may be easier to set boundaries with acquaintances is that there is less emotional investment in the relationship.

Another reason why it may be easier to set boundaries with acquaintances is that we may have less history and baggage with them. 

With close friends, we may have a long history of interacting in a particular way or engaging in certain activities together. Changing those patterns or setting new boundaries can feel more difficult

19. More objective feedback

Another one of the benefits of keeping people as acquaintances is that you get to get more objective feedback.

Acquaintances may be more willing to give you objective feedback since they’re not as emotionally invested in your life. 

They do not know your history and might not hold back words once they are speaking to you. 

This is different with close friends who know you too well not to want to say some blunt truths to you which may hurt your feelings. 

With acquaintances, this is not the case, they may not hold back one bit while speaking to you especially once you ask for their advice on something thet may be troubling you

20. Variety of perspectives

By keeping a broad network of acquaintances, you can gain exposure to a variety of perspectives and viewpoints about life.

When you interact with different acquaintances, you can gain insights into their perspectives and learn from their experiences.

For instance, if you have an acquaintance who comes from a different cultural background, they may have a different perspective on certain issues related to culture, religion, and social norms. 

By learning about their perspective, you can broaden your own understanding and become more open-minded.

You have the opportunity to see life from different angles through different people. By doing so, you learn and checkmate yourself where the case may be.

Having a variety of perspectives is one of the many benefits of keeping people as acquaintances rather than categorizing everybody as a friend.

Bottom Line on Benefits of keeping people as acquaintances

It is important to note that keeping people as acquaintances instead of as friends isn’t a bad move. You got to make a decision to control who should stay close and who shouldn’t.

Acquaintances are not enemies. They are just another type of friend that we wish not to keep too close to our hearts and minds. 

They are part of the link that forms your network and they are people who can turn out to be the best friend you never knew existed. 

They can serve as an experimental pool through which you select your friends after years of knowing them as an acquaintance and they show proof that they deserve to be known as friends. 

Once this is the case and they pass through your ‘friend’ screening criteria test, they can qualify to be your friend and then you can take them out of the acquaintance pool.

We will say that you should focus on the benefits you get from having people as acquaintances instead of rushing to classify them as friends in the name of having friends. 

This is a singular big mistake a lot of people make.

Do not be the desperate one searching for who to term your friend. Allow people to pass through tests, devise your own ‘friend criteria’, and even ‘acquaintance criteria’ to help you categorize people you meet on a daily.

Acquaintances serve a big purpose in your life and you should focus on harnassing it as much as you can while you take away your thought from the urge of labeling anyone who comes close to you a friend when you have not examined their individual characteristics while comparing it to how it serves your life purpose holistically.

Not everybody should be termed a ‘friend’. Learn to allow people to exist in the acquaintance zone without feeling the emotional rush of classifying them as friends yet because of your feelings.

The objective here is to let you know that you have a lot of benefits to gain from keeping people as acquaintances rather than as friends.

We hope that this article helped you learn the benefits in keeping people as acquaintances.

You may also want to see this article on 21 Importance of Friends in life – The power of friendship.

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