You can side-step the issue if you limit ‘friends’ to a more restrictive subset.
i.e. those who are both worthy allies and worthy of emulation.
(Personal anecdote, this is the internal definition I had growing up so I was continuously mystified by folks claiming they made dozens of friends in high school, college, etc...)
But the downside of this method is that some people could literally go their entire lives without a single ‘true friend’ which may cause problems of communication somewhere down the line.
You can side-step the issue if you limit ‘friends’ to a more restrictive subset.
i.e. those who are both worthy allies and worthy of emulation.
(Personal anecdote, this is the internal definition I had growing up so I was continuously mystified by folks claiming they made dozens of friends in high school, college, etc...)
But the downside of this method is that some people could literally go their entire lives without a single ‘true friend’ which may cause problems of communication somewhere down the line.