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TED Talks About Friendship
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3 Steps to Turn Everyday Get-Togethers into Transformative Gatherings
Priya Parker
Why do some gatherings take off and others don’t? Author Priya Parker shares three easy steps to turn your parties, dinners, meetings and holidays into meaningful, transformative gatherings.
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Frientimacy | Ted
Shasta Nelson
Our world is getting better at connecting us, and yet we report feeling more disconnected than ever. The issue is loneliness. The solution is understanding the three requirements of a relationship that lead to belonging and intimacy. Shasta Nelson is passionate about all things friendship. As founder and CEO of GirlFriendCircles.com, a female-friendship learning community, she speaks and writes regularly on this important topic. More videos from Shasta Nelson: https://www.shastanelson.com/videos
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Can the internet buy you more friends? | TEDxObserver
Robin Dunbar
Robin Dunbar is an anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist. He theorized a formula that determines humans have a 150 person limit to the number of people we can hold meaningful relationships with.
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The Science of Friendship | TED
Lydia Denworth
In this heartwarming talk, science writer Lydia Denworth asks: What would happen if we made friendship the template of all our relationships? She discusses the biology and evolution of this connection between individuals. Are you living a life that prioritizes positive relationships?
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The Secret to Living Longer May Be Your Social Life | Ted
Susan Pinker
The Italian island of Sardinia has more than six times as many centenarians as the mainland and ten times as many as North America. Why? According to psychologist Susan Pinker, it’s not a sunny disposition or a low-fat, gluten-free diet that keeps the islanders healthy — it’s their emphasis on close personal relationships and face-to-face interactions. Learn more about super longevity as Pinker explains what it takes to live to 100 and beyond.
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How Co-Housing Can Make Us Happier and Live Longer | Ted
Grace Kim
Loneliness doesn’t always stem from being alone. For architect Grace Kim, loneliness is a function of how socially connected we feel to the people around us — and it’s often the result of the homes we live in. She shares an age-old antidote to isolation: cohousing, a way of living where people choose to share space with their neighbors, get to know them, and look after them. Rethink your home and how you live in it with this eye-opening talk.
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How to live to be 100+ | Ted-Ed
Dan Buettner
To find the path to long life and health, Dan Buettner and team study the world’s “Blue Zones,” communities whose elders live with vim and vigor to record-setting age. In his talk, he shares the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits that keep them spry past age 100.
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Survival of the Friendliest | TEDxNCSSM
Vanessa Woods
Wood’s research compares the cognition of bonobos and chimpanzees, and learns what bonobos can tell us about becoming a more peaceful species.
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The critical importance of friends on your happiness | TEDxBerkeley
Mike Duffy
What makes us happy and what can increase our happiness? Mike Duffy has researched happiness for over 30 years in an attempt to provide answers.
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Adam Grant
There are three basic kinds of people: givers, takers and matchers. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant breaks down these personalities and offers simple strategies to promote a culture of generosity.
How Our Friendship Survives Our Opposing Politics | Ted
Caitlin Quattromani and Lauran Arledge
“When we engage in dialogue, we flip the script. We replace our ego and our desire to win with curiosity, empathy and a desire to learn. Instead of coming from a place of judgment, we are genuinely interested in the other person’s experiences, their values and their concerns.”
Friendships Are Your Lifeline | Ted
Will Young
Friends William Young and Christopher Sweeney explain how their friendship helped them both through difficult moments in their life. They explore why friendships need to be places we can open up to each other in order to build strong, honest bonds that can end up being a lifeline.
TED Talks about Loneliness
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The Lethality of Loneliness | TEDxDesMoines
John Cacioppo
John Cacioppo, leading social neuroscientist, explains the science and negative effects of loneliness.
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This Could be Why You’re Depressed or Anxious
Johann Hari
About many overarching themes of the human condition, but friendship, connection, and loneliness are featured. “If you’re depressed or anxious, you’re not weak and you’re not crazy — you’re a human being with unmet needs.”
All the Lonely People | TEDxArendal
Karen Dolva
Dolva is the CEO and co-founder of No Isolation. No Isolation’s goal is to help as many people as possible out of social isolation and loneliness by making technology available for those who can not just use generic solutions to stay connected.
The Science and Evolution of Friendship
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26 Facts about the Science of Friendship
John Green mental_floss List Show Ep. 409
Mental Floss is a weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, author John Green tells us facts about friendship that are backed by research.
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This Is Your Brain On Friendship
Invisibilia | NPR
What if there was a machine that could predict friendships?
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Loneliness
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Everybody feels lonely sometimes. But only few of us are aware how important this feeling was for our ancestors – and that our modern world can turn it into something that really hurts us. Why do we feel this way and what can we do about it?
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HuffPost — Next Level Living Ep. 6
In the 6th episode of ‘Next Level Living,” we explore the scientific benefits of friendship, how we’re hardwired to make connections, and how humans benefit from having friends.
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3 Ways Loneliness Impacts Your Health
Washington Post
A short video from the Washington Post cites research on loneliness and the negative health effects it has shown.
Aspen Ideas Festival
A recording of a panel on loneliness at the Aspen Ideas Festival. A panel of Professors and psychologists from around the world speak about loneliness and what we can do to stop this epidemic.
Laurie Santos | Discovery Canada
Dr. Laurie Santos studies Rhesus Macaques’ natural behaviour in Cayo Santiago to examine how being born into different groups affects the animals’ biases.
BBC
As a show of political prowess, Kindia attempts to challenge the leadership of current top male, Qafzeh, at Edinburgh Zoo. But will Kindia’s display ritual be sufficient to usurp Qafzeh? Great clip from the show ‘Chimp TV.’
Building Social Skills
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The Importance of Vulnerability
The School of Life
Vulnerability can be a bedrock of friendship.
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Practical Psychology
How to never run out of things to say: just remember to talk about FORD — Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams
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Social Psychology Online
In general, people are not paying attention to you as much as they are paying attention to themselves. Our brains trick us into thinking we are in the spotlight.
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Straight-Mind
A psychologist explains why we tend to like competent people more than incompetent people, and if the competent person occasionally makes a mistake we like them even more.
How to Never Run Out of Things to Say in Conversation
Charisma on Command
5 tips to keep the conversation flowing.
Improvement Pill
The BeeFriend Course teaches you how to become more likable and befriend people
Practical Psychology
When not selling the online course, this video is useful in explaining 3 key social skills to help develop the art of conversation and build new relationships.
Making and Strengthening Friendships
Oprah and Gayle Reflect on How They’ve Remained Best Friends for 45 Years—and Counting
Oprah and Gayle: a famous lifelong friendship whose connection has lasted through it all. They share the tips and tricks for what makes a lasting relationship.
Kid President’s Guide to Making a New Friend
Kid President
Here’s the thing: the world needs more friends. Kid President gives you tips on making friends. It’s as easy as saying Hi!
The Essential Truths of Friendship
Catherine Cook
Co-founder of MeetMe, the public market leader for social discovery speaks to why MeetMe works and the secret to meeting friends online.
Types of Friends
Robin Dunbar: What three-sided football tells us about friendship
New Scientist
Evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar reveals the hidden rules of our friendships. Calculated to be 150, ‘Dunbar’s number’ refers to the number of social relationships we’re capable of managing at any one time. In 2017, Dunbar joined the New Scientist three-sided football team to understand social networks and how allegiances are formed and broken in something termed ‘triadic closure’.
6 Types of Best Friends You Will Make in Your Life
Psych2go
An animation of 6 different types of friends that may come into your life and the purpose they serve. The social butterfly, the fearless adventurer, the secret keeper, the mother figure, the older sibling, and the loyal best friend.
You Are the Average of the 5 People You Spend the Most Time With
The Art of Improvement
Who do you spend the most time with? Who are the people you most admire? Are those two groups of people the same?
Community
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Why Americans of All Ages Are Embracing Communal Living
A video and accompanying article by TIME shows just how these communities work and what is so beneficial about them. Pulling from research and examples from around the USA and the world, Kluger shows how intentional communities help with social isolation and wellbeing for all their residents.
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Cohousing communities help prevent social isolation
PBS looks into a cohousing community in Denmark and how it affects the health of the people who live there.
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Planet Community – Episode 4 – Cohousing Communities of Ann Arbor
The Foundation for Intentional Communities has a series called “Planet Community” and in Episode 4, it looks into a cohousing community in Ann Arbor where residents share food, hold consensus meetings, and live. Despite working through issues of privilege and diversity within the community, the shared emotional connection is strong.
De Lijn
A collection of ads by Belgian bus company De Lijn shows why it’s better to travel in groups.
CBC Vancouver
The story of a community garden and how it brings people together on the roof of a hospital.
The Four Commitments: The Choices That Create Your Life
David Brooks
One of the four vital commitments we need to make in life is community.
I grew up in a cult. It was heaven — and hell. | TEDxChristchurch
Lilia Tarawa
Lilia Tarawa was brought up in the Gloriavale Christian Community on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, where she was constantly surrounded by everyone she loved. But over time, she began to see the dark side of her community, and ultimately realized that she had to get out.
Foundation for Intentional Communities YouTube Channel
The Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) is a resource center for people wanting to join, start, and build intentional communities. Our Communities Directory features +1,200 intentional communities, including ecovillages, cohousing, coliving, communes, shared homes, housing co-ops, and more. We host weekly networking and educational events, 5-week courses, classified advertisements, and an extensive bookstore and resource library on http://ic.org/
Short Films
New Boy
NITVShorts
An Oscar® Nominated Short Film about a boy who has been through trauma and struggles to find friends in a new place.
Rabbit and Deer
Péter Vácz
A cute depiction of the friendship of a rabbit and a deer and how they overcome the obstacles between them.
FRIENDSHIP | A Short Film
Zach Ramelan
A film highlighting the realities of 21st-century friendship. Wait for the twist at the end!
David Sniadecki
A boy and his dad move to a new place. The boy finds a comic shop and bonds with a new friend over shared interest.
Natalie van den Dungen
A new student struggles to make friends at school because she is different until another student shows her empathy.
Pixar SparkShorts
An unlikely connection sparks between two creatures: a fiercely independent stray kitten and a pit bull. Together, they experience friendship for the first time.
Hannah Grace
An isolated teenager realizes the stories she tells herself have been affecting her inner child.
Inspirational
“How to Be Alone” A Poetry Film
Pádraig Ó Tuama
A Poetry Film by Leo G Franchi, illustrating the poem “How to be Alone” by Pádraig Ó Tuama. A beautiful depiction and call to action.
A Story of Friendship and Hope
Thai Ads
An advertisement for a phone that is surprisingly heart-wrenching shows the beauty of friendship.
Guinness | Friendship
Guinness
An inspiring look into friendship and how actions can make a huge difference.
Funny / Silly Short Videos
Cute House
The Dress Up Gang
Some guys find a cute house.
Friendship Soup Recipe
The NED Shows
What ingredients do you put into your friendship soup?
A Friend-ship
Friends
What’s the one kind of boat a storm can never-ever sink?
Additional Videos
The Hunger Games Teaches Friendship
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
This clip shows Peeta, the compassionate male lead, explaining vulnerability in a friendship to Katniss, the tough heroine.
What are Your Values?
MindToolsVideos
Your values are the things that are important in the way you live and work. Your values determine your priorities, and they are ultimately the fundamental measure of your success in life. When the things you do match your values, life is usually good. But when these don’t align, that’s when things feel… wrong.
The Purpose of Friendship
The School of Life
Friendship should be one of the high points of existence, and yet it’s also the most routinely disappointing reality. Getting clear about what friendship is for isn’t cynical; it provides the foundation for genuine bonds.
What to Do When You’ve Been Ghosted with Jennice Vilhauer, PhD
American Psychological Association
Ghosting is a heartbreaking fact in the modern dating world. It’s when a friend or someone you’ve been dating disappears from contact with no explanation. Ghosting can shatter self-esteem and hurt just as much as physical pain. Our guest is psychologist Jennice Vilhauer, Ph.D., who wrote the popular Psychology Today articles “Why Ghosting Hurts So Much” and “Did the Internet Break Love?”
What does friendship mean to you?
Friendship Circle of Montreal
An organization asks people to give their definition of friendship.