How often does an old friend pass away, and you think to yourself, "Man I wished I reached out to them sooner, and was able to tell them how much I loved them."
Well, this is your sign to reach out to that special person in your life today.
A new study from the University of Pittsburgh found that our old friends appreciate being reached out to and receiving a message way more than we think.
One group of volunteers had to think about the last time they reached out to an old friend "just because," and how much they thought their friend appreciated it, and a second group had to think about the last time an old friend reached out to them.
The study found a huge disparity between what people expected the reaction to be, and what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a random message, text, email, or even gift.
Dr Peggy Liu, of the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of the research, told the American Psychological Association, "Many people have lost touch with others in their lives, including many friends. Despite wanting to reconnect, I think many people are hesitant about doing so. These findings suggest that their hesitations may be misplaced, as others are likely to appreciate being reached out to more than people think."
The team concluded that we appreciate receiving these random messages checking in because they come as a total surprise.
When the team conducted experiments in which a hypothetical message or gift was expected to be given, they found no difference between the sender's view of how much it would be appreciated and that reported by those imagining the situation as recipients.
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