Nov. 27, 2019&mdash;Which matters more to your happiness: more friendships or stronger ones?

Different generations might not answer that question the same way. But a new study looking at the social networks of older and younger adults suggests the answer is ageless. 

The more friends, the better? 

Participants in two national polls answered questions about the size of their social groups. That included the number of people they'd had regular contact with in the past six months in person, by phone, by email or over the internet. These relationships were divided into categories, such as close friends, neighbors, family, coworkers, school or childhood friends, and people who provided a service. Participants then rated their feelings of well-being over the past 30 days as well as their overall feelings of social satisfaction. 

The study found that younger adults tended to have larger social circles than older adults. That may reflect the younger generation's greater use of online social networking sites, where they can connect with a large number of casual friends. 

But while older adults had smaller overall social circles, that didn't mean they were less happy. In fact, feelings of well-being increased with age, while social satisfaction held steady. 

Well-being included things like feeling calm and peaceful, having a lot of energy and feeling happy, rather than feeling nervous, blue or tired. 

Social satisfaction meant how content a person was with their social contacts and family life. 

Close friends matter at any age 

Despite younger adults having more friends overall, the number of close friendships people had didn't differ by age. 

And that's important. The study found that for younger and older adults alike, the number of close friends&mdash;not the total number of relationships&mdash;was tied to a greater sense of well-being and social satisfaction. 

But researchers also made this key finding: High social satisfaction was an even better predictor of well-being than the number of close friends. That suggests the quality of our friendships matters more than the quantity.

For people who want to get more out of their relationships, researchers suggested building better friendships, not more of them. 

For older adults, that might mean developing computer skills to help them stay in touch with the people they value most. For younger adults, it might mean learning how to avoid relationship problems that are emotionally draining. 

The study was published in <a target="_blank" href=" https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/pag-pag0000415.pdf">Psychology and Aging</a>. 

Feeling lonely? 

The answer is important&mdash;for your happiness and your health. <a href="[BASEDOMAIN]/healthinfo/ Story.aspx?StoryID=15a38e4f-d5b9-4576-a90f-b56d790aa88f">Take this quick quiz and learn about small steps that might help.</a>

Does happiness hinge on how many friends we have?

While younger adults may have a wider network of friends, older adults may actually be happier. 