All things being equal, time allocated to the right friendships is time not available for health-defeating behaviors. Unlike health-defeating behaviors which are price habituating — think addicts who need to take larger doses of drugs to get the same high — friendships can be price sensitizing: the more time you spend engaged in them, the higher the benefits and satisfaction you can derive from them.
Of course, problems arise when these friendships encourage health-defeating behaviors.
Originally posted on Twitter, February 2023.