Socializing Hobbies

Introduction

Social relationships are vital to our well-being. Hobbies offer opportunities to maintain existing friendships and form new connections.

Good friends are good for your health. Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times. Friends prevent isolation and loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. […] Friends also play a significant role in promoting your overall health.—Fri endships: Enrich your life and improve your health – Mayo Clinic
Turns out, there was one—and only one—characteristic that distinguished the happiest 10 percent from everybody else: the strength of their social relationships.—The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work
[…] we find that the number of alters [social connections] reaches a maximum at an age of around 25. This is followed by a decrease until an age of around 45. From age 45, the number of alters contacted stabilizes for about a decade.—Sex differences in social focus across the life cycle in humans – PMC
In the hierarchy of relationships, friendships are at the bottom. Romantic partners, parents, children—all these come first.—How Friendships Change Over Time – The Atlantic
The current results highlight the power of weak ties, suggesting that even social interactions with the more peripheral members of our social networks contribute to our well-being.—Social Interactions and Well-Being: The Surprising Power of Weak Ties – PubMed