My idea of “friendships” has grossly evolved within the past couple of years.
The various levels of friendship in a young professional’s life *please note that friendships in each of these levels can overlap, fluctuate, skip a level, etc:
– the Email/Chat/Facebook/Text friendship, where sadly most of contact and catch-up time is spent with ALL friends
– the Happy Hour and Go Out Once a Month to Eat/Drink friendship
– the Call Every Now and Then friendship, especially with friends who are far away
– the Call for Help friendship, as in the friend that calls only when in need for assistance
– the friendships in different circles, such as the College friends, the High School friends (if that even exists), and the Co-Worker friends
– the Networking friends you schmooze with every so often at events, functions, etc.
– the Lover/Partner who also happens to be your Best Friend. In most cases, this is largely because he/she is the sole person who is consistently around.
– the friends of your Lover/Partner. You may end up seeing their friends more than your actual friends.
What used to be a simple thing like “friendship” has grown so complicated now in the life of the 20something. What other friendships would you add to the list?
Lipstick on Paper 
i can relate, im in my 20’s as well…to answer your question i would add
-The mentor friendship(someone who has experience in a particular arena that you are wanting advise on)(i think this is different than the ask for help one, if you were thinking that, or maybe that was just my crazy head
-friends with benefits (usually ends up in disaster, ha)
can’t think of any others
i never thought of friends as being on different levels. though i don’t consider everyone i meet, hangout with, or even spend time with a friend either. i only distinguish friends by one factor: food. if you have fed me, you are a friend. if you have fed me on more than one occasion, you are a good friend. if you have fed me many times, you are a friend for life.
That pretty much nails it for me.
I have a few circles of friends, Facebook friends and then I guess I could include student friends- I basically study with them for at least two hours a week. I know them but we’re not really close.
The close girlfriend is another one- the best friend who is not your lover. I think this position becomes less important as you grow older.
Yup, you are correct. With age, our friend groups become much more defined by the purpose they serve– to reminisce, to network, to stalk… It’s a little scary at first, but I think it’s okay so long as we’re honest with ourselves about it.