TheSite.org friends survey

To find out more about young people and their social lives, TheSite.org hosted an online survey in May and June 2007 on friendship. A total of 185 respondents completed the survey.

The results:

• Three quarters (74%) of respondents had six close friends or fewer – three in 10 (28%) had no more than three;
• Respondents were most likely to have met most of their close friends at school;
• Nearly half of respondents (46%) said they had a 'best friend'. Those that did were most likely to have met their 'best friend' at school;
• When it comes to friendship, 63% of respondents said quality is more important than quantity and they would prefer to have a few close friends than a lot of friends who are not so close;
• Eight in 10 respondents (81%) had close friends of both sexes. However, 15% said all their close friends were the same sex as them;
• Three-quarters (73%) of respondents said it's possible to have a close platonic relationship with someone of the sex they would usually be attracted to. However, one in 10 (12%) thought it wasn't possible to have such a relationship, and 15% were unsure. More than half (58%) of respondents had actually fancied or fallen in love with a friend;
• When asked what the most important quality is for a friend to have, respondents were most likely to mention trust or loyalty;
• A quarter (24%) of respondents said there was nothing that would make them 'dump' a friend. However, reasons for doing so most likely to mentioned by those who would were dishonesty and betrayal.