Different types of friendships enrich our lives in different and meaningful ways, but theres something special about a couch friend.

A couch friend is a person you feel totally at ease around, who never makes you feel like you need to impress them. You can sit on the couch for hours in your comfiest clothes with no agenda just talking, maybe watching a show or eating snacks and still have fun.

The term went viral after Charlotte Negron , a Los Angeles-based content creator, created a TikTok about the beauty of this kind of friendship last year. In the months since, it has amassed more than 7 million views and over 11,000 comments.

Couch friend is a term that came from the couch hangs some of my friends and I so frequently have, Negron told HuffPost. I would say I started referring to these friends as my couch friends around a year ago and it stuck.

To me, a couch friend is a friend who you need no social battery for. You can simply coexist and spend hours doing practically nothing, having the best time just enjoying each others company, she added.

With her couch friends, hangouts generally consist of watching a show or scrolling on their phones and intermittently chatting or showing each other a funny video, Negron said.

Basically its like doing exactly what youd be doing if you were alone, but in the company of your friend, she said.

Why Couch Friends Are So Vital

Modern life can feel hectic and exhausting at times not to mention expensive. So theres something very appealing about a friend who you can catch up with in a low-effort way that doesnt require you to spend money or energy.

Couch friends are so important because at their core, they are friends you feel safe around, Negron said. You can show up, however you are, and just be... Its a very low-maintenance kind of get-together that can be the perfect way to recharge.

Danielle Bayard Jackson is a friendship educator and author of the forthcoming book Fighting for Our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Womens Relationships. As humans, we crave intimacy and the idea of being able to sit on the couch with a friend is symbolic of the kind of comfort and closeness were seeking, she said.

I think we all desire a friendship that does not require you to get dressed up, to perform, to commute, to come up with something entertaining to do. So if we can sit on the couch and talk and be free in our everyday clothes, it says something about our comfort level and intimacy. And I think thats why its such a popular concept, she told HuffPost.

How To Make A Couch Friend