Indians make friends fast, says global study

Indians are among the world’s fastest in making friends, and on an average have six best friends, a record only marginally broken by the Saudi Arabians.

This is what the just released Friendship Report says based on a global survey of how culture, age and technology shape preferences.

The Friendship Report reveals Indians are most ready to fall fast for a friend. In fact, 23% became best friends at “first like.”

On the ‘Best Friends’ list, only Saudi Arabians fared better with 6.6 while the United Kingdom has been ranked lowest with an average of only 2.6.

Released by Snap Inc., the global study interviewed 10,000 people across Australia, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Saudi
Arabia, the UAE, the UK and the US. Ten experts on friendship from around the world contributed to the report to contextualise the data.

So, why are Indians more friendly? The Study found a basis: “In India, friendship is the most celebrated human relationship with a wealth of popular culture - from songs to movies - extolling its influence on our lives.”

But friendship trends differ in the East and West. Amit Desai, a lecturer of anthropology at the London School of Economics explains: In Western Europe and North America, “friendship is about finding people who are like you and bonding over your similarities.”

However, in many Asian countries, India included, friendship is more relational focusing on seeking out an array of new and different friends who bring alternative but complementary qualities to the relationship.

Friendship to love

For Indians, friendship is also about love. “Whether in person or online, interactions with friends leave Indians with overwhelmingly positive emotions; ‘loved’ (55% in person versus 43% online), ‘happy’ (48% in person versus 46% online), and ‘supported’ (43% in person versus 36% online) are the three most reported.”

A third of Indians say their best friend is the opposite sex, more than any other country outside of the US.

Desai attributes this to a change in romantic relationships.

“While marriages in urban India have traditionally been arranged by parents, increasingly young people are seeing marriage in romantic terms that include dating, falling in love and having a spouse that is also your friend.”