People online are debunking the idea that having a large friend group is healthier, arguing 'the bes
- A TikToker went viral saying she was "the worst version" of herself when she "had the most friends."
- Ashley Corbo recently underwent a friendship breakup with a large group.
- Many agreed that "scattered" friendships were more genuine and enabled more freedom of thought.
A woman who said she was "the worst version" of herself when she "had the most friends" is seeking to debunk the idea that having large friend groups is best. It's a sentiment that's gone viral and inspired new discourses on TikTok in recent weeks.
In a video with nearly one million views, 26-year-old Connecticut native Ashley Corbo argued, "I think the best people, the most authentic people, are the ones with less friends."
Corbo, who also described going through a friendship breakup from a large group, told Business Insider she initially liked being part of the group — especially posting about it online. But in reality, her friends often ignored her messages, excluded her from group chats and plans, and spoke poorly of her to others. When she confronted them, she said she was reprimanded and felt even more disconnected.
@lilbabyariesbig friend groups scare me to be honest
♬ original sound - ashley corbo"Having friends shouldn't make your life harder," she concluded her TikTok.
Commenters appreciated and affirmed her thoughts on the subject. "It's called groupthink. It's a psychological phenomenon," one person wrote. "I love that we're debunking big friend groups," another added.
Scattered friendships foster deeper connections and diverse opinions, Corbo argued
After she broke up with her friend circle, Corbo initially believed she was in the wrong, given the common adage that "people with little to no friends are problematic," she told BI. While this can be true, she said, it's also the case that people with fewer friends can simply have "higher standards."
"When you're in a friend group like that," Corbo said on TikTok, "it's hard to challenge each other's viewpoints or encourage each other to grow."
Corbo told BI she felt compelled to share her thoughts after seeing the creator @egybestie speak on the subject last month. The topic has now rippled across TikTok.
In late December, another creator named @woahkenzy nabbed 1.4 million views sharing a tangential observation: Every time she encountered someone inconsiderate or rude, she said, they belonged to big friend groups.
@woahkenzyyJust so confused
♬ original sound - woahkenzy"I feel like people that are so sweet, loving, just deserve everything don't really have big friend groups," she said.
Others concurred while adding nuance. TikToker Chelsea Fagan responded to Corbo's video, noting it could be a uniquely American issue: "We have a loneliness and isolation problem, not a too-many-friends problem," she said.
Though Fagan conceded having large friend groups in the past had made her life "more homogenous," she said the takeaway shouldn't be to strive for fewer friends but instead to strive for fewer groups.
"Yeah, this conversation bothered me," a commenter on Fagan's video responded. "Interdependence and community are good for us — they are literal health indicators."
Corbo told BI has "fewer and more scattered friendships" today, and prefers one-on-one relationships because they enable deeper connections and foster different perspectives.
She called the viral response to her video "insane" (in a good way), and concluded it was "comforting to know that I'm not alone."
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