Adult friendships are a specific kind of strange. You go from seeing your best friends every day by default — same school, same halls, same lunch table — to sending a text that says "we should hang out soon" every six weeks and meaning it genuinely but never quite making it happen.
It's not that you care less. It's that adult life is a series of competing obligations, and friendship is the one that doesn't have a deadline. Work has deadlines. Rent has a deadline. Your dentist appointment has a deadline. Catching up with your college roommate is perpetually "when things calm down" — which, as it turns out, is never.
The miracle of adult friendship is that the good ones survive all of it. The group chat stays alive on fumes and memes. Someone sends something at 11pm on a Tuesday that makes three people feel completely seen. You don't need to talk every day to pick up exactly where you left off.
These 25 memes get it. They are painfully accurate and, if your adult friendships are anything like ours, several of them will make you immediately want to send one to a specific person.
When plans exist mostly in theory
Sometime in your mid-20s you realize that "we should hang out soon" is less a plan and more a mutual acknowledgment that you like each other. The intention is real. The execution is a whole other thing. These are for every friendship that lives entirely in the hypothetical.
Pablo went a little too real with this one. Dark Pablo…dark.
Yup, this about sums it up. Why do we all do this? It isn’t always because we genuinely have no intentions of actually meeting up (although that is often the case, and we are just trying to be polite and cordial, though when the time comes, a very quick moving illness has bedridden us, keeping us from leaving the comfort of our homes…tragically, I might add). No, sometimes we really do want to hang out with our friends but it simply never materializes. I believe this is where the term, “made it out of the group chat" comes from, because it can be very difficult to actualize plans as an adult, with schedules and responsibilities that require us to survive independently.. Ultimately, it isn’t really about how often the plans do materialize, it’s about how many times that text is sent. That text shows that an effort is being made to sustain the friendship and that’s what really counts—showing them that you care even if the cycle continues until one of you dies.Â
When everyone's got a different idea of what counts as a good time.
As adults, we all end up in different milestones at different times. Just scroll through your Facebook feed... if you even still have one. Someone's engaged, someone's getting a house, and someone's getting an ill-advised and possibly not sober tattoo. That's just how it goes. But that also means agreeing on an activity can be kind of tricky when one friend's idea of a night out is "not hearing the kids cry for a couple of hours" and someone else's is dancing until they can't feel their legs.
Growing together even if your grow separatelyÂ
Let’s face it, it’s not easy maintaining childhood friends with growing-up, jobs, college, and moving away. However, just because things are different doesn’t mean you still can’t be friends! Some bonds are bigger than convenience and even though you might not see your childhood bestie that doesn’t mean you can’t hit it right back off whenever you meet up.Â
If I have to wear hard pants, I'm not going.
Maintaining friendships while also keeping the bills paid is a a struggle, and that's before someone invites you to be in their wedding party. RIP wallet.
Someone's gotta piece it all together.
The truth of the matter in this meme is that you know your friend is a real one when you go two or three months without getting together, or even talking for that matter, and the minute you’re back together, there’s no tension or awkwardness or love lost. Adopting this dynamic early on in adulthood because it’s simply the way of life. It’s very difficult to give the same energy to friendships that you did when you were younger and had less responsibilities. Also this way, you can catch them up on all the crazy things that have happened in your life in a wild frenzy just like this.
When you can’t hang out with your adult bestie because you both have "lives" and "responsibilities"
It’s so hard trying to find time to meet up with someone, but that’s why communication via memes is important and being generous with your call back times. Don’t worry it still works out and you can still meet lots of great adulting friends, it just requires a little effort!Â
The group chat as a love language
Nobody speaks in the group chat for three weeks and then suddenly five people are having a full emotional breakdown in real time at 11pm. This is normal. This is fine. The group chat is not a place of plans — it is a place of presence.
Majority communicating in forms of memes
True adult friends know that it’s hard to keep in touch when you’re busy so communicating almost solely by tagging and sending memes can help maintain your friendship! But, don’t forget a quick miss you or a nice compliment can also go a long way. Don’t worry after you guys can continue to send each other silly memes!Â
Drunk texting your friends
Once you and your friends are all of legal drinking age of course, you can enjoy the occasional drunk to text to unashamedly tell your friends how much you love them. As long as of course you and your friends are drinking at a safe place or have a designated driver! Although of course, a taxi or an Uber was invented for a night out on the town with friends.Â
When adulting hits both of you at once
The specific solidarity of two people who are equally overwhelmed by life looking at each other and going "...same." These memes are for the friendships that don't require explanation — just commiseration.
Helping your friends out when they’re low on cash
Adulting is equal parts expensive as it is difficult. Great adult friends will offer to spot you from time to time when the bank account is getting dry. Although in this ritual it is customary to return the favor sometimes. Friendship, like food gifts, are a two-way street.Â
Helping your friends through adultier situations than either of you are not equipped for
Sometimes the well runs dry of both of your adult knowledge well, but that’s okay. This meme is a great way to show support and even good for a little laugh in dark times. Plus it’s really cute. Fun idea to follow the meme: you could bake a real cake or get sheet cake and have it written on and help your friend eat their feelings.
When friends let you adult by yourself
Sometimes mistakes are best learned the hard way. Sometimes it’s the only way you learn, but adult friendship is letting your friends poorly fix their mistake even though you also don’t know what to do. This is a great meme for when you have an adultier problem than either of you two can handle.Â
Ah yes…the great maturing
For some it happens quick--one day you wake up and your pre-frontal cortex is finally done growing so you make the unconscious decision to stop being a degenerate. For others, it has a similar feeling to when you start getting sick and you can feel it coming on before it starts to get bad. You know it's coming but there's nothing you can do to stop it. At a certain point you begin to realize there may be more to life than getting plastered on the weekends… maybe. What really sucks is when your best buddy is not ready to hang it up along with you yet and thus you end up with many of these persuasive conversations.
The friends who know the most important part is showing up
Not the easy stuff — the fun stuff. The weird stuff. The "I need someone to drive me to a thing I'm embarrassed about" stuff. The "can you just sit on the phone with me while I do this" stuff. These are for those friends.
Speaking of helping friends eat their feelings
Great adult friends hold each other's hair back if they’re trying to eat food and after one too many drinks. No one wants frosting in their hair or even worse to accidentally bite into their own hair. Besides when the tables are turned you’ll want someone to help you hold your hair back!
Genuinely listening to their interest even when you don’t understand.
When your friends develop deep passions for something you only have little to no knowledge about, adult friends just smile and listen even though it may get a little confusing. This can stem from their career, tv shows, video games, certain things their kids or pets may do, but nonetheless you nod and ask questions to be supportive. That way in a few minutes they will return the favor when you start discussing your hyperfixation.
A meme about watching shows with your friends
Another Nathan W. Pyle original about adulting can leave anyone tired. Sometimes you’re too tired to watch your shows. If you have that one sleepy friend who always falls asleep, this meme is for you! If you don’t have that one friend this meme is, of course all in good fun!
Helping them parallel park
Parallel parking isn't for the faint of heart. Whether you're in the heart of the city or on your college campus, sometimes moral support is all your bestie can give you. And sometimes that's all you need to white knuckle your way through it.
The ones that are just painfully, specifically accurate
No category. No explanation needed. Just memes that are so accurate it's slightly uncomfortable.
When you realize your social circle is more of a social dot
Look, life gets busy, and you don't need to keep up with every single person you've ever met. But between "being in bed by 9" becoming a legit hobby as an adult and the not-so-mysterious case of the ever-shrinking friend group, reality can leave you feeling a little less than cool every now and then.
How to make adult friends meme
There is no stronger bond than one made based on dislikes especially as you get older. Like how hard it is to keep up with kids, not understanding what a VSCO girl is, how fruit goes bad almost as soon as you buy it, perpetually missing the window of your avocado, paying rent every month, and the unhelpful back for some odd reason.
At what point does this happen though and does it mean I’m old?…
Look…this one is uncomfortably true, and we all hate to admit it but I think the answer to the question above sadly is yes—but only kind of. When staying out past eleven or midnight becomes a pipe dream, that doesn’t mean you’re old—it means you’re sophisticated…right?
Being choosy about who you befriend
As much as we should be friendly with everyone, some people just aren’t vibing on the same level as you. If you have a risque social media account, better keep a smaller circle of who can see it. That or make a good ol fashion finsta account and keep yourself protected.
For when you need a just long call with your best friend
After a long day of adulting sometimes you just need your friends and a long vent. Assuming of course this isn’t one of those times where of course you forget to call back for a couple of days. What matters is that when you do talk to your friend and you’re there for them.
Enforcing positivity
Making sure your friends are taking care of themselves, even if you have to do it yourself.
A meme for when you're fed up with society
If you know any great happy hippy friends this meme would be perfect for them! Because adulting in day to day society gets super drab sometimes. Doesn’t it feel easier to grow your own own food and live off land? It’s a lot more labor intensive, but less people and less problems.
Or when you don’t know how to engage a funny social acquaintance online
That’s okay, starting online friendships can be hard, but you just gotta put yourself out there! Start with a few likes or reactions, then move on up to comments, and bam you’ll have a full blown friend. It’s tough putting yourself out there for a new friendship out there sometimes.
Last, but not least for after you send your own spicy original meme to your friend
You know because sometimes the joke is just worth the effort. Also you can guarantee your friends have never seen it before. It’s the best way to ensure your meme game is both fresh and topical. If you don’t know how to make your own memes check out the memeatic available in the App Store and Google Play.Â
Feel free to send your friend this list or even just one or two of your memes to lighten up his or her day. Being able to share a good laugh is the backbone of any good friendship.
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Originally posted by Tess English on 11/25/2020. Revised by Jonah Stewart on 11/7/2025.
