New study reveals the ultimate formula for friendship

A NEW study of more than 2,000 people reveals Brits require 34 hours of commitment (2,040 minutes) to transition a new acquaintance into a friend. What’s more, each interaction needs to last on average 3 hours and 4 minutes to be mutually beneficial – far longer than your average cup of tea! In fact, it’s about the same time you could watch The Godfather, cook a 14lb turkey or take a train from London to Paris.

The study, commissioned by Fisherman’s Friend, was analysed by Oxford University Professor, Robin Dunbar – famed for formulating Dunbar’s number, a theory revealing we can only hold 150 connections at once. And together they found that, set within the 150 meaningful relationships we typically have at one time, the average Brit currently has only five close “shoulders-to-cry-on” friends.

Indeed, it also seems we’re all on the lookout to increase our number of true friends, with two thirds of the nation admitting they are actively looking to add to their inner circle, and almost two thirds (58%) claiming they need a good number of friends to feel content.

Aston spoke to Professor Robin Dunbar.

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash