[hoodoof]

Friend relationships require active work to ensure they remain friends.

If you are young this might not be obvious but as you get older there is nothing more certain.

Friends who you do not make the effort to see in person do not remain friends.

Staying in personal contact does not happen without action.

Facebook/text messaging alone does not count as being in contact.

Men in particular have a tendency to not maintain their friendships and many end up old and friendless.

[jlarocco]

> Friend relationships require active work to ensure they remain friends.

Isn't it the thought that counts, though? Seems very shallow to maintain a "friendship" using an app.

It's weird the things that we're automating away.

[CalRobert]

If I write down all my friends' birthdays on a calendar and use that as a reminder to get in touch, is that shallow? Some of us are just bad at remembering these things.

Also, when you work 60+ hours a week, have a kid, have a partner with whom to maintain a relationship, and spend an astonishing amount of time on chores, it's not shallow to just get distracted. For what it's worth, people remember, I think, just not as often as they'd like.

[hoodoof]

I don't think there's anything wrong with being organised about staying in contact.

Perhaps it is something best kept as a one sided thing though where only the organiser knows that they are being systematic about maintaining their friendships.

[zardo]

You could mostly do this with a pencil and paper. Would it still seem shallow if someone tracked contact with people in their journal under a 'Important Relationships' heading?