Friends with benefits: what is it and is it right for you

Key points

– Friends with benefits

Refers to a non-romantic friendship where both people consent to a physical relationship without commitment or emotional intimacy. They maintain their independence and keep romance out of it.

– Arrangements and expectations

Friends with benefits setups usually involve agreeing on rules like not getting jealous, maintaining privacy, and making clear it’s only physical. Emotions aren’t part of it and dating others is allowed. Open communication helps avoid mismatched expectations.

– Potential downsides

Getting physical often brings emotions into play whether you want them or not. One or both people may start to catch feels and want more. Or it could get awkward if the arrangement ends messy since they still have to be friends after. Honesty and setting clear boundaries up front helps minimize drama.

Friends with benefits deals with people who are friends first, actually care about each other, but also want to hook up sometimes, physically. It does sound confusing at first, but hopefully this helps clear things up.

Definition and Origins

Friends with benefits (fwb) means two people who are close friends decide they also want to fool around, like make out, and so on. But they agree they aren’t dating, just having fun between friends every now and again when they feel like it.

Where did it start?

The term friends with benefits has been around for awhile, but it seems like more and more people are doing it these days. Maybe cuz people want someone to connect with, but they aren’t ready for a full-on relationship. So friends fwb lets them get their needs met without all the pressure of being together.

Common Misconceptions

A lot of folks think fwb always leads to messiness or hurt feelings somewhere down the line. And sometimes that’s true. But if both people are honest about what they want and don’t want, like committment, then it can work out fine and easy. The trick is keeping feelings separate from the physical stuff.

Cultural Perspectives

Different cultures see fwb different ways. Some are more traditional and think you should only hook up if you’re together. But nowadays plenty of people from all types of backgrounds do the fwb thing. And as long as everyone is respectful, ain’t no need to judge how other people live their lives.

Understanding the Dynamics

It’s important to figure out what you both want and don’t want from this type of situationship. Are you wanting to actually date other people or just keep things physical between the two of you? You gotta be upfront about where you see things going or not going. Make sure you listen to what they’re wanting too so you’re both on the same page

Emotional vs. Physical Connection

Sometimes it’s easy to catch feelings even when you’re just trying to keep things casual. Pay attention to if an emotional connection is starting to form or if it’s staying just physical. If an emotional aspect is coming into play, you may need to reconsider if a Friends with Benefits setup still works for what you’re both looking for.

Table 1: Emotional vs. Physical

Setting Boundaries

It’s important to set clear boundaries from the start about what you’re both comfortable with when it comes to stuff like spending the night, meeting each other friends, saying “I love you”, being exclusive or seeing other people too. Getting on the same page about boundaries will help avoid misunderstandings down the line.

Communication Importance

Check in with each other to make sure you’re both still happy with how things are going. Be open about if any feelings are changing or if something feels off. Good communication is key to making a Friends with Benefits thing work without anybody getting hurt. And it’s okay if deciding it’s not working anymore too – better to stop sooner than later.

The Psychology Behind Friends with Benefits

When ya got friends with benefits, there’s usually some kind of feelings involved whether we wanna admit it or not. We’re only human after all. Plenty of research shows how our brain gets all confused distinguishing between sex and emotions. Oxytocin, the “love hormone,” gets pumped through our bodies whether we physically love somebody or just emotionally into ’em. And dopamine makes us want more of that good feeling, even if it isn’t really going anywhere long term.

Attachment Styles

From what the shrinks say, everybody got their own way of dealing with relationships based on how they were raised. Some folks tend to get more attached easily and need that emotional closeness. Others prefer to keep things more casual without getting too invested. Knowing your own attachment style can help decide if a friends with benefits setup is right for you or if you’re just asking for heartache down the line. Otherwise, feelins can develop whether we want ’em to or not.

Impact on Self-Esteem

If the benefits are just physical fun for one person but mean something more emotional to the other, it can really mess with somebody’s head and how they feel about themselves. Constantly wanting more than the other is willing to give usually ends bad with one catching feels while the other bails. Or someone gets jealous seeing their FWB with somebody else even though they said it was just sex. Better to be honest with yourself from the start about what you really need to feel good about you.

Avoiding Emotional Entanglement

With friends with benefits, keeping emotions out of it can be trickier than it sounds. Clear communication from the jump about expectations and boundaries helps minimize mix-ups and hurt down the road – if that’s both people’s real goal and not just what one is telling the other. Also important to check in regularly as time goes by to make sure you’re both still on the same page as feelings can change covertly. And leaving space between rendezvous so it don’t become too intertwined may help severe that emotional attachment before it forms. It’s really not easy, but it’s possible if you know yourself and are honest with how you really feel deep down.

Navigating Social Perceptions

Dealing with friends with benefits can be tricky because people may see it differently. Some folks think it means you just wanna hook up, and others see it like you’re dating without the commitment. Friends also might judge you or get the wrong idea. It’s important to be upfront with each other about what you both want so there ain’t no mixed signals. You also gotta think about if you’re both comfortable with people knowing about your situation or not. It’s easiest if you can just ignore what others might think and do what works for you two.

Stigma and Social Norms

There’s still a stigma about sex and relationships that ain’t traditional. Lots of people see only dating as okay and think anything else means somethin’s wrong. But everybody’s different – what feels right for some might not for others. As long as you’re both honest with each other and on the same page, who cares what others say? Do your own thing. Easy to get caught up worrying what’s “normal”, but normal don’t matter as much as being true to yourself.

Peer Influences

Friends can either support you or make things tricky. Hoping they got your back no matter what. But you never know – maybe they’ll judge or won’t understand. Could even cause drama between friend groups. Gotta do what you think is best for you, not what others want. If close friends really care about you, they’ll wanna see you happy even if it ain’t what they’d do. Others may stir up trouble for fun – don’t let ’em get in your head.

Media Representation

We see a certain image of romance and relationships everywhere – movies, songs, books. But real life don’t always look like that. Media shows mostly traditional couples or singles looking for “the one”. Rarer to see friends with benefits type situations portrayed in a positive light, or even shown at all. Don’t feel like somethin’s wrong with you for not following what Hollywood says is normal. You do you – who cares what a bunch of stories and characters think is right. Live your truth.

Benefits and Challenges

Being in a friends with benefits kinda deal has its ups and downs. One good thing is you get all the fun parts of a relationship without as many rules. You can get physical and spend time together but don’t gotta worry about like calling or texting all the time.

And it’s easier to end when you feel like it without as much drama neither. But it can also get tricky feelings-wise sometimes because you’re spending so much time with someone. Even though you say it’s just friends you may start catching feelings after a while, or they could. That’s when it can get complicated.

Flexibility and Freedom

With a friends with benefits thing, you get to have your independence too which is cool. You ain’t tied down to just one person so you’re free to do your own thing or see other people whenever.

And there’s less pressure to act like a couple or do couple-y stuff, like meeting the ‘rents or whatever. You can kind hang out and hook up but then go live your separate lives the rest of the time.

So in that way it’s pretty casual and low-key. But that freedom could also make things unclear sometimes terms of where you both stand.

Potential for Misunderstanding

Cuz there ain’t really set rules to a friends with benefits deal, sometimes people can misunderstand each other’s intentions or what they want out of it. One person may think it’s mostly physical but the other could start developing deeper feels without realizing.

Or maybe one starts acting more jelous or coupley even if that wasn’t the plan. Then you gotta have an awkward chat to get on the same page again. It takes effort to stay open about communication so both sides know where they stand.

Balancing Expectations

When you’re hooking up with a friend, it can be easy to want more or expect more from them than what was agreed on. Maybe you wanna spend all your time together or get mad when they see other people. But part of maintaining a friends with benefits thing is remembering to keep some distance emotionally.

Otherwise it’ll probly just lead to arguments or hurt feelins down the line. So you gotta check yourself if you catch feelings developing and make sure you’re both giving what the other expects, for it to work long-term.

Transitioning from Friends with Benefits

Figuring out how to go from just fun to something more serious with someone you’ve been fooling around with can be tricky. You gotta have a real talk about what you both want and see if you’re on the same page. It helps to be honest with each other about your true feelings instead of letting things stay all unclear. Maybe invite them out to a regular date instead of just hookin up, and see how it goes.

Evolving into a Relationship

If you decide you do wanna give dating a go, things’ll likely change a bit from when you were just pals who hooked up sometimes. You’ll need to work on developing trust and actually getting to know the real person instead of just having a good time together. Spend more time listening to what they say about their hopes and worries too. It’s important to keep dating fun while also deepening your bond – find a balance there.

Ending the Arrangement

Ending things on good terms is best if the benefits just aren’t working anymore but you still value the friendship. Have an honest chat, take accountability for your feelings, and hear them out too without getting defensive. Agree you care about each other and want what’s best, even if it means back to just being pals. Make a clean break so no one’s left hangin’

Handling Rejection

If the feelings aren’t mutual and they just wanna stay as friends, that’s rough but you gotta respect it. Don’t try to change their mind or make them feel bad about the choice. Give yourself space if you need to before you’re ready to be around them without any awkwardness. With time, you can hopefully get past it and value the friendship again.

Maintaining the Friendship

Ending a friends with benefits setup don’t have to mean losing the friendship too. You just go back to how you were as pals before anything physical happened. Keep in touch, hang out in group settings at first if one-on-one is still weird, and make an effort not to let old tension mess it up. With work, you can salvage what you had as friends and move on from the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Kary Walters

I’m Kary Walters, a wedding planner, life coach, and writer with a passion for helping couples stay together and achieve their relationship goals. With over a decade of experience, I specialize in self-improvement and have worked with individuals & couples facing challenges.