It may be time to re-evaluate your squad: A new study from Tel Aviv University and MIT says that nearly half of all friendships are unrequited, or in other words (and to put it in the harshest way possible) half of your friends don’t like you as much as you think they do.
So, how to determine which ones are faking you out? According to researchers, certain factors can be helpful in predicting realness. If the two of you have a significant number of mutual friends and you enjoy similar social status, for example, chances are your relationship is legit and reciprocated. If not, there’s a good possibility that one of you is simply aspiring to be on the level of the other, in terms of social hierarchy.
This isn’t all bad news. Last week, we learned that science says we can only have five good friends at a time anyway, so you can probably stand to lose the 50% of your circle that’s just not that into you. Here’s our best advice on how to do it, plus some tips on making new, real friends to replace the impostors.
