8 Awkward Friendships We All Probably Have

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Author: Justin Mckibben

Everyone has a few friends that things are just the weirdest with. Not intentionally, but it happens. For one reason or another they are just socially mismatched. These awkward relationships can be managed, but they have their own quirky characteristics. It could come from you or your awkward friend, or both. And if you say you don’t have any, than the awkward friend is probably (well, this is awkward) YOU! Here are 9 awkward friendships we all probably have.

1. The Actor Friend

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This is the kind of friend that you have this weird kind of stage presence with. Like anytime they are around you have to play the part that is most comfortable to both of you while in each other’s company.

This can range from being a comedian, to being ironic and sarcastic, to the two of you holding one another up on a pedestal that they build to keep away from real authentic connection while judging others and hyping each other up. Avoid being selfish, listen to others, and help them when you can if you don’t want to be an Actor Friend.

It is the Actor Friend because whenever you break character with this person and the improv is ignored, they become vulnerable and it is always the most uncomfortable.

2. The Don’t- Ask- Questions Friend

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This is a person who never asks you anything about your life. This friend can be explained in one of three ways:

• Extremely self-absorbed
• Avoids getting close to people
• Doesn’t want to talk about either you or himself or anything personal, just third-party topics
• Thinks YOU’RE insufferably self-absorbed and knows if he asks you about your life, you’ll talk his ear off about it

This person may not be the closest to your heart, and probably doesn’t know honestly THAT much about you, nut you probably end up in a lot of fun, interesting conversations.

3. One Sided Frienship

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There are a lot of ways a friendship can be lopsided. Someone can be higher on their friend’s priorities than vice versa. Someone can want to spend more time with a friend than vice versa. One member can consistently do 90% of the listening and only 10% of the talking, and in situations where most of the talking is about life problems, what’s happening is a one-sided therapy situation.

This creates a badly off-balance give-and-take ratio, and that’s not much of a friendship when the power dispersion is not well balanced. It is basically someone using someone else.

4. The Never 1-on-1 Friend

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In almost every group of friends, there’s one pair who can’t be alone just 1 on 1. It’s not that they don’t like each other, they might get along exceptionally well in a group, but they have no individual friendship with each other whatsoever.

This leaves both of them petrified of the obvious lack of connection when they’re alone together. Being in a group of three when the third member goes to the bathroom is like the end of the world. It’s not even that these people couldn’t have an individual friendship—it’s just that they don’t.

5. The ‘We Go Way Back’ Friend

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This is the awkward friendship where the only thing you have in common with each other is the fact that you have known each other for a long, long time. You may find yourself saying ‘that’s my oldest friend’ but notice you made sure not to say ‘best friend’.

Instead you tell people, ‘we go way back’. Even though if you would have met each other now you would never be friends. But you hold onto one another just because of the history.

6. The Different Path Friend

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As cliché as it sounds, sometimes this is the most true statement in relations to some friendships. People simply grow apart. This is when the ‘We Go Way Back’ Friendship becomes a more permanent reality. One point you were identical, and now you couldn’t be more different.

When it comes to advancing into full adulthood, we all grow up at widely varying paces, which leads to certain friends suddenly having totally different existences. Anyone within three years of 30 has a bunch of these going on. It’s just a weird time for everyone.

7. The Friendship of Obligation

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When you make plans, follow through, and regret it the entire time you spend together. This is that friend you never seem to have the time to meet with, and you’re never really happy when these plans are being made, or really when the day comes up. Sometimes you don’t want to be friends with that person, or maybe you’re delusional about it, but what you’re most likely not aware of is that they probably don’t want to see you either.

Both parties often think it’s a One Sided Friendship without realizing that the other person actually feels the same.

Sometimes you don’t think hard enough about it to even realize you don’t like being friends with the person, and other times you really like the idea or the aesthetic of being friends with that particular person, but there has been no real effort or discovery of an actual connection.

8. Facebook Celebrity Friend

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This particular friend is not an actual celebrity, but in your mind (as you creep on their social media accounts) they might as well be. Everyone has one of these… don’t pretend you didn’t notice them a minute ago on your feed doing something amazing!

These are the small handful of people whose Facebook page you’re uncomfortably well-acquainted with, and those people have no idea that this is happening.

Seriously though, don’t worry. There are people out there you haven’t spoken to in several years who know all about what you’ve been up to all week and wish they had your life. That’s so much less creepy, right?

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No matter what the meaning behind some of our stranger or more strained relationships, we all depend on other individuals through times in our lives for help and guidance. When drugs and alcohol have defeated us, sometimes the best we can do is look for the right kind of friend to show us a new way, no matter how awkward they are. If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call toll-free 1-800-951-6135