Friendships do not arise spontaneously, but rather require time and dedication. A recent study examined friendship based on the time, activities, and conversations shared, and its results suggest that it takes at least 50 hours to classify a person as a “casual friend,” 90 hours to call them a “friend,” and more. of 200 hours to consider him as a “best friend”.
All this data comes from the study published in , which was divided into two parts:
In the first part, 429 people who had recently moved to another city were recruited and asked to choose a person who had recently moved. All participants filled out a survey about this new relationship, how long they had known each other, what they do when they go out together, how much time they spent together during the last week and during a regular week. They were also asked to rate their relationship with this new person on a scale of closeness and whether they considered him or her a “good friend” or their “best friend.”
In the second part of the study, a similar scale was administered to a group of 112 first-time university students, in which they were asked to choose two new people they had met on campus and to keep a record of the time they spent together during the week.
Combining the data from both studies, it was found that it takes between 40 and 60 hours to form a “casual friendship,” between 80 and 100 hours to consider each other “friends,” and more than 200 hours to be “good friends.” Once a friendship stage is reached, people double or triple the time they spend with that person.
Of course, just spending time with a person does not make you friends, for this it is necessary that you share activities of mutual interest and enjoyment such as having a coffee, playing some type of games, going for a walk, sharing hobbies, etc. Which also means that spending a lot of time with a colleague at work won’t build a friendship, unless you share time outside of your work responsibilities.
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There are many other factors that are involved in the emotional bond we develop with our friends. But the most fascinating thing about the study is that it puts the time we spend with our friends back as a priority. Something that today seems increasingly scarce and where most people say they “don’t have time.”
Study reference:
Hall, J. A. (2018). How many hours does it take to make a friend? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 026540751876122.
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