Subscribe now

Mind

How to reconnect with long-lost friends, according to science

We are generally as reluctant to contact a long-lost friend as we are to talk to a stranger, but scientists have come up with an approach so it's easier to make the first move

By Christa Lesté-Lasserre

9 May 2024

Contacting someone you haven’t spoken to in a while can be daunting

ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images

We often fear that long-lost friends wouldn’t want to hear from us or that reaching out would be awkward. Now, scientists have come up with an approach to ease our anxieties around making contact.

Read more

The hidden rules that determine which friendships matter to us

“People aren’t averse to the idea of reconnection, they’re just worried about the risk of doing it,” says Lara Aknin at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. “They don’t want to be the…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 2nd of July 2024.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Popular articles

Trending New Scientist articles

1

We finally know why some people seem immune to catching covid-19

2

Sick chimpanzees seek out range of plants with medicinal properties

3

Triceratops relative had the weirdest horns ever seen on a dinosaur

4

Watch leeches jump by coiling their bodies like cobras

5

Is an old NASA probe about to redraw the frontier of the solar system?

6

Farmland near Chernobyl nuclear reactor is finally safe to use again

7

Chemists invoke bizarre Maxwell's demon on the largest scale yet

8

Pluto and the largest moon of Neptune might be siblings

9

Overheated trees are contributing to urban air pollution

10

Stunning JWST image proves we were right about how young stars form