How Do We Make Friends?

Role: Researcher

The Loneliness Epidemic is a growing phenomenon. As young adults, we leave the social bubbles of college campuses and plunge into the hustle and bustle of big cities. Lost and confused, we inevitably ask ourselves: how do we make new friends?

In the summer of 2022, I set off in a team of three to explore this question. Our goal was to collect anecdotes, desires, struggles, and life philosophies from individuals, distill key insights, and share our wisdom with those around us.

Process

Interviews: We spent 40+ hours of interviewing friends and acquaintances who volunteered to share their personal perspectives and experiences with us.

Survey: We analyzed the results of 230 responses in a detailed survey regarding attitudes, desires, and pain points on navigating friendship. Our data visualizations take into account all participant responses unless otherwise noted.

Literature: We read 75+ articles about friendship, loneliness, and connection to give us a wider perspective on key themes.

Insights

We developed a 5-step framework on how friendships tend to evolve:

1. Meet: when you first encounter someone

2. Make: when you get to know a person

3. Deepen: when you start to open up

4. Strengthen: when you start to develop trust

5. Maintain: how you upkeep a relationship

For each of these steps, we are publishing an in-depth report on the qualitative and quantitative findings we discovered along our journey, along with some key recommendations and advice for navigating the complex dynamic of friendship.