What friendship dynamic do you appreciate the most?
“Being there for one another 24/7.” “We share a similar level of positivity.” “We have gone through many milestones together, so we can honestly confide in one another.” “My friends help me to see the high road.” “We understand what makes each other tick.”
If you have pets, do you consider them your friends?
Do you have childhood friends you keep in touch with?
Do you consider your family members to be friends? Your friends to be family?
No, family don’t count as friends, say 16% of respondents, while 60% say that some family members do belong in both categories. The remaining 24% consider their whole family to be friends. Meanwhile, 80% of readers think of non-related friends as part of their family—maybe even figuring larger than their kin relations.
Do you have friends whom you’ve only met online?
Do you consider your coworkers to be friends?
The majority of respondents find work an overall friendly place: For 26%, they have many friends at work, and 52% say they are friends with at least a few coworkers. Only 22% draw a firm line between work life and social life.
How often do you spend leisure time with friends?
What do you see as the most valuable quality in a friend?
The runaway winner (38%) was a friend’s propensity for understanding. Next was 29% for trustworthiness, followed by 13% for compassion. Another 15% of the vote was divided between positivity, generosity, sense of humor, and sharing similar interests and passions. Finally, 5% of respondents named other qualities such as self-awareness and honesty.
How do you keep in touch with long-distance friends?
This article appeared in the August 2018 issue of Mindful magazine.
