5 hours Ago
Remember the good old days? People who reminisce are more likely to keep friendships, scientists say By XANTHA LEATHAM DEPUTY SCIENCE EDITOR Published: 04:00 GMT, 13 March 2025 | Updated: 04:00 GMT, 13 March 2025 e-mail View comments Do you often reminisce about the good old days? If so, you probably have lots of close friends and put effort into keeping those relationships, a study suggests. Researchers have discovered that people who are prone to nostalgia are likely to have larger and closer groups of friends compared to those who are less sentimental. And this can pay off in terms of health and wellbeing, they said.
Nostalgia is when people reflect wistfully upon fond and meaningful experiences from their past. These often include memories of happy times with close friends or relatives, such as childhood moments or key events such as weddings and birthdays. The study of 1,500 people from the US and Europe found that nostalgia drives people to maintain social networks.
'People who value nostalgia and experience nostalgia more frequently are more aware of their important relationships and the need to strengthen them,' the researchers wrote in the journal Cognition and Emotion. Researchers have discovered that people who are prone to nostalgia are likely to have larger and closer groups of friends compared to those who are less sentimental (stock image) 'Over time, they may develop more enduring close relationships, even in the face of potential losses in social networks across the lifespan. 'We found that nostalgia is more closely linked to the motivation to strengthen existing social ties than to the motivation to expand social networks.
' For the study people were asked how prone they were to feeling nostalgic, how often they experienced nostalgia and how important was it for them to bring to mind nostalgic experiences. They were also asked about their motivation to make new friends, such as whether they were eager to make friends, wanted to meet new people and were excited to meet new people. Other questions included whether people were committed to maintaining friendships, whether they wanted them to last for a very long time, and whether the person would be upset if a friendship was to end in the near future.
Analysis revealed that people tended to become more nostalgic over time, but nostalgia was consistently linked with having more close friends and putting more effort into those friendships. A close look at two different periods of time – 2013 and 2019 – showed that people who scored 'high' or 'medium' for nostalgia kept the same number of strong social ties over this period. Meanwhile, those with low levels of nostalgia had 18 per cent fewer close relationships.
Nostalgia is when people reflect wistfully upon fond and meaningful experiences from their past (stock image) Previous studies have found that nostalgia is associated with feelings of being loved and trusted, while it can help alleviate loneliness and depression. Reflecting on a nostalgic event also promotes feelings of satisfaction with relationships. The latest study was from researchers from the University at Buffalo, in the US, and Kyoto University, in Japan.
Researcher Kuan-Ju Huang, from Kyoto University, said: 'People who feel nostalgic more often and value those memories are more aware of their important relationships and the need to nurture them. 'This means these friendships may be more likely to last, even as we get older and our lives, interests and responsibilities, change.' Share or comment on this article: Remember the good old days? People who reminisce are more likely to keep friendships, scientists say e-mail Add comment Comments 0 Share what you think No comments have so far been submitted.
Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. Add your comment Enter your comment By posting your comment you agree to our house rules . Submit Comment Clear Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.
No Yes Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.
You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy ..
