Pick friends whose jokes don’t need a target.

Comedy that needs a victim is cheap to produce and expensive to be around. A group whose laughs come from mocking somebody has to keep finding somebody, and sooner or later the supply runs low and it is your turn. You can hear it before you are the target: the laughter has an edge, and there is a person at the table going quiet. Funny without cruelty is harder and it holds up.

Notice who the jokes are aimed at this week. If the answer is always the same person, you have learned something about the group. Spend more time with the ones who can make you laugh about nothing.