Friendship is a subjective value judgement. Something is “friendship” as long as it fulfills our self-interests. If the friendship becomes abusive, it is suddenly “not friendship” anymore. We only call something “friendship” only when it’s convenient to us, only when the relationship is symbiotic and not parasitic in nature. One can “fake” friendship by engaging in a symbiotic behavior, mimicking empathy, care and protectiveness that friends have that gives them a sense of belonging, solidarity, love and safety without necessarily feeling this way. On the outside the other person won’t really notice the difference (at least until they’ll notice something “off” about you). And that only reinforces the idea that friendship is about social bonds rather than some abstract philosophical BS. And, like any social bond, friendship can be discarded at will if you wish. Friendships are not something important and shouldn’t be treated as such. Neither being alone is something importaint and shouldn’t be treated as such. Friendships certainly have their psychological and material benefits. But only for those who can utilize them properly.