How many unaired friends would you say you have ? Ever wonder if that numeral is pocket-size or bigger than the average ? Well , wonder no more , because young data from the Pew Research Center has you covered . They asked a panel of US adults to mouth about their friendly relationship group , and some of the results may just surprise you .

For most of us , learning to build up andnavigate friendshipsis a key step in life . As tyke and teens , the daily dramas and politics within our peer group often find like the centre of our universe – but what about when we ’re all uprise up ?

According toresearch conduct earlier this yr , more Americans ( 61 pct ) believe that having close friends is important for a fulfilling life than get a lot of money ( 24 percent ) , getting marry ( 23 pct ) , or even have tike ( 26 percentage ) . skill recite us that humanity arenot alonewhen it do to valuate friendships , and that a unfit ending to a relationship can feeleven worsewhen it was platonic than when it was quixotic .

graph from Pew Research Center giving percentages of people of different races or ethnicities who said their close friends mostly share their race or ethnicity

A majority of adults with at least one close friend said most of their friends share their own race or ethnicity.Image credit: Pew Research Center

To plunk a small deep , analyst at thePew Research Centerconducted a study specifically focused on how US adults are live friendships today . They asked a across the nation representative panel a serial of question , from how many close pals they have , to the demographic makeup of these groups , to the kind of topic they like to talk about .

This is the part that might make for uncomfortable recital , depending on where on the shell you fall . A legal age of adults , 53 percent , tell that they have between one and four penny-pinching friends , and 38 pct said they have at least five . At the other end of the spectrum , only 8 percent arrogate to have no close ally at all .

The video differs somewhat according to eld . Those of age 65 and one-time were more potential than their young counterparts to have a largersocial meshwork , while under 50s were more probable to have between one and four close friends .

data on frequent topics of conversation among adult friend groups from the Pew Research Center

Most adults reported discussing work and family with their friends, while other topics – like pop culture and mental health – came up more often for younger people.Image credit: Pew Research Center

Men were also slightly more probable than women to have a friendship grouping of five or more , but the difference was pretty small ( 40 percent vs. 36 per centum ) .

It ’s often say that “ opposite word pull in ” ; but just as research into amorous attraction ischallengingthe old proverb , it also does n’t appear to hold true for our platonic companions . Over 70 percent of women said that all their friends were the same gender as them , compared with 61 percent for the men . A majority of respondents also say their protagonist all partake their slipstream or ethnicity .

Having a partner in crime to do life with is likely work for us – of those who report possess at least one undecomposed acquaintance , 72 percent said they were altogether or very slaked with the friendly relationship .

Perhaps part of the reason for that is having someone to talk through all of biography ’s stresses with . When asked about conversations with their cheeseparing friends , most of the respondents picked out study and fellowship life as matter that often come up , and over a third of under XXX also on a regular basis spill to pals about theirmental health .

Holding on to friendship is one matter , butmaking friendsas an grownup can betricky . If you ’re seat here as part of the 8 percent and you ’re not too well-chosen about it , there arethings you could doto increase your chance of converge your new bestie . It ’s not easy , but if these study results are anything to go by , it can be altogether deserving it .

[ H / T : NPR ]