Family is more important than friends

"Parents can often interfere with problems at school and we are, in fact, better off without them, figuring out the resolutions ourselves." Say that to the suicide victims. Bullying can crush your self-confidence if you are not in a position to do something about. As seen in the movie Karate Kid, the Chinese kids beat him up and he didn't tell his mother, which resulted in the worse. He got tutored in martial arts, but Miyagi had become like a father he never had. If he hadn't went to an adult, he would have got beaten up for the worse. "There is a difference between friends, bullies and acquaintances. If a person blackmails you, they are certainly NOT considered your friend." What con doesn't realize that is people change, and so do relationships. An old acquaintance may become a friend, and an old friend may become a bully. As time passes, people change too. And many friends blackmail just for the fun of it. Suppose I know some bad secret of my friend and I accidentally spill it, my friend can turn into my enemy and blackmail or bully me. Or different interests could lead to a friendship break out and therefore bullying. I lost my friend when I got to know he watched Star wars. I found Star wars pathetic, we had an argument and I have bullied him ever since. "Sure your family could take you to a Vietnamese restaurant but having a Vietnamese friend and eating at their house is far more authentic. " Once again, I will bring up the point of peer pressure. What if you change your entire culture and habits just because of the influence of the friend? What if your cultures clash (say, Hindu vs Muslim), and you change sides just so you can continue your friendship? We must never suppress our identity for our friends. On the other hand, our family has the same culture, so no one is going to judge you for being a Muslim or a Pagan. "Friends can increase your social life by introducing you to their friends" Exactly, that is the worst. It often happens I have a good friend, but my friend has another friend who I don't like. It really causes a problem. All this tangled webs and all, there is nothing like that in a family, nothing that vast and complicated at least. Plus, you have to keep up social appearances with friends, like saying that you know about all the cool and popular stuff. Someone may simply hate superhero movies, but it is hard to express that among a group of fans. Or liking 1d movies. Some people have such interests that are not accepted by society. Plus, people in the police, government, secret services etc. can't afford more friends as they may reveal information to the enemy. Someone in the family has always been influenced by you and therefore may not be against your ideologies, and anyways family is always a small circle but there are often a whole big group of friends. Friends will not always have your back, but family will. Just look at GTA San Andreas, Ryder and Big Smoke were in our brotherhood, but in the end only our real brother Sweet has our back, while our friends betrayed us for power. Moreover, whenever you ask for a favor from a friend you are supposed to give him a favor later on. In Family this doesn't happen. Has your mom asked you to clear your dues? Just ask an orphan how much he would like to have a family. An orphan has all the friends in the world, but he will always long for a family. You think friends can ever fill the gap of family? Family can take the place of friends, but friends can't take the place of family. The best part about a family is no one will judge you and make fun of you for your eccentric choices. Also, your family never gives up on you, while your friends' may think there is no scope for you. Plus, I hate paying for friends as well, like watching a movie or buying stuff, while in a family the money technically belongs to every member. For your open-mindedness point, it really depends upon the parent. Many parents often have liberal views on religion and faith and wouldn't want you to take it too seriously, while it is possible to have a conservative friend. Also, you may have a friend who is trying to impose his faith upon others, such as atheists. Also, if your friend circle is all atheist but you are say Christian, you may want to convert to atheism even though you don't fully agree with their ideologies. Peer pressure and bullying are the main problems of being too much into friends. Fake friends are a problem as well.