Guys and girls have notably different friendships. The differences begin as early as elementary school, when boys play sports together during recess and girls walk around and talk. Girls tend to have a stronger emotional connection with their friends than guys do. They share every little detail about their lives, from the small interactions they had that day to childhood moments that have contributed to who they are as individuals.

Now, this is not to argue that guys are not close to their friends, just that their friendships are different. Robin Dunbar, an Oxford psychologist who has researched friendship for over 50 years, observed that male friendships are more casual, whereas girl friendships are more emotionally intense and conversation-based. For example, for guys, as long as they are part of the same group activity, they can usually be friends.

Girls are also more likely to maintain and even strengthen their friendships, despite distance. Whether they move away, attend different colleges or live far apart as adults, they tend to remain close.

“When jobs and children make life busy, it is women who end up putting more work into maintaining friendships,” Dunbar said. 

Ana M. Martínez Alemán, a professor at Boston College, also conducted a study on deep female friendships formed at the university in the 1990s and how they influenced these women’s identities and future pathways. After ten years, she reconnected with these women and discovered that many of them had maintained their friendships.

“More detailed, penetrating and incisive, the women’s friends’ conversations are perceived to have intensified despite geographic separation,” Martinez Aleman said. 

 But for men, as geographical distance between them grows, their friendship fizzles out unless they are connected on a deeper emotional level rather than a surface-level hi-and-bye friendship.

Friends need to relate to each other on a personal level to build a deeper connection. They need to be able to turn to one another when they need someone to talk to to improve their mental health.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, “friendships can play a key role in helping us live with or recover from a mental  health problem and overcome the isolation that often comes with it. We can end up with the strongest relationships with the people who’ve supported us through hard times.”

Girls’ friendships are typically more emotionally connected than a guy friendship. Though men are perceived to be emotionless, they are perfectly capable of engaging in deep meaningful conversations. If they open up to their friends, they will undoubtedly find that they have had some similar experiences and be able to intensify their friendships.