Not OP, but some things from my own life that came from casual acquaintances: * Meeting new friends through them * shared activities * Getting new perspectiv

Not OP, but some things from my own life that came from casual acquaintances: * Meeting new friends through them * shared activities * Getting new perspectives * Invites to parties (some very social casual acquaintances have huge parties) * Business connections * Fun and laughter * If at a shared event or location, casual chit chat and friendliness You get all those with close friends too, but you can have many more casual acquaintances more quickly. If you’re not getting that it’s possible you’re not meeting the right kind of casual acquaintances or maybe you yourself aren’t the type to attract/benefit from such acquaintances. (Which is fine, you can do perfectly well without casual acquaintances) A good definition of close friend is anyone with whom you’ve discussed a deep personal issue with within the past year, who isn’t family. (Or that you absolutely would feel comfortable doing so with) I’m counting things below that as casual acquaintance/loose friendship. It’s possible I’ve set the friendship bar higher using that definition. Also, casual acquaintances are usually how you develop new friends. See someone in a context enough times, realize you’re getting along, start hanging out more, etc. People complain about a lack of ability to make friendships with age and a big part is losing the contexts that allow for casual acquaintances.