Do you feel like the “fringe friend” in your group? Let’s talk about it…

According to the super credible Urban Dictionary, a fringe friend is “a person you kind of know and who kind of knows you too. Possibly met at a class or in a group gathering. Someone you would be willing to wave and smile at but not someone you would stop and talk to.”

Others define fringe friends as “nonessential pals,” as Katie Camero of The Guardian puts it. Basically, you’re close enough to keep in touch here and there, but you aren’t quite as much of a priority as other people.

That sounds both isolating and universally relatable.

The term “fringe friend” has been around for quite some time. In fact, someone posted on Reddit seven years ago about coming to terms with being a fringe friend.

“I always have trouble feeling as if I’m that friend that never really belongs or fits in with the group,” the then-23-year-old woman wrote. “You have the typical friend group, and there’s always that one person kinda tagging along in the background and basically pining for attention from the other members who are all really close-knit with each other. Yep, that’s me.”

I don’t know about you, but as I’m getting older and nearing 30, I completely relate to that Reddit post. While I have many deep and fulfilling one-on-one friendships with beautiful humans, I don’t necessarily feel as if I “fit” into any one group.