Friendship is what makes you more fulfilled, satisfied. Much more than marriage, according to the latest research results.
Friendship or marriage? What counts more when it comes to happiness? It is in early 2023 Pew Research Center conducted a survey on a representative sample of adults about what would be essential for a fulfilling life. Participants were asked to indicate the importance of 5 factors: being married, having children, having close friends, having a job or career they enjoyed, and having a lot of money.
Friendship is the highest, marriage is the lowest
Only 23 percent of respondents said marriage was either very important or extremely important to a fulfilling life. This was the lowest percentage of all five categories. They also ranked large amounts of money and children fairly low. Only 24 percent thought that having a lot of money was very or extremely important to a fulfilling life. Only 26 percent thought it was for children. On the other hand, as many as 61 percent of adults stated that having close friends is most important to them.
But friends didn't take the first place either. The number one key to a fulfilled life was work or a career that we enjoy and that you enjoy. More than 7 out of 10 (71 percent) said that this is very or extremely important for a fulfilling life. But it's not just about the money that comes with employment.
