They are rich who have true friends
PA 258/08 An extensive study into how our social networks affect our emotional well-being has found that the more friends we have, the happier we are - and those of us lucky enough to have more than ten good friends are more likely to be happy than unhappy. The ⤘Circle of Friends' study, commissioned by The National Lottery, looked at levels of happiness and satisfaction with life among lottery winners and non-lottery winners. 1,760 respondents participated in a UK-wide questionnaire examining how satisfied they were with life, exploring their achievements and their relationships with their friends - including when they met, how often they talk, the kind of activities they do together and how many new friends they have made in the past two years. The report found that those with five friends or fewer had a 60 per cent chance of being unhappy. People with between five and ten friends have a 50 per cent chance of being happy. But for people with more than ten friends, the likelihood of being happy varies between 55 and 56 per cent. Adding more friends than this doesn't significantly increase the possibility of happiness - so ten is the optimum number.
