Data Spotlight: Friends in the USA - Exploring what Americans think about friendship

Data Spotlight: Friends in the USA - Exploring what Americans think about friendship

Lesley Simeon - July 29th, 2024

Ahead of Friendship Day, we’re exploring YouGov data to see how Americans feel about friends and friendships - and whether their relationship status has any bearing at all on their attitudes towards friendships.

According to data from YouGov Profiles although most of both groups agree, single Americans are less likely (83%) than committed ones (90% of those who are either married, in a civil partnership, in a relationship or living with a partner) to prefer quality over quantity, when it comes to friends.

Data from Profiles, which covers demographic, psychographic, attitudinal and behavioural consumer metrics, also shows that committed Americans are more likely than single ones (83% vs. 78%) to make friends based on common interests and values.

More than a third of partnered adults in the US (34%) envy the lifestyle of their friends - as do roughly a quarter of unpartnered Americans (24%).

Friendship groups are a really important part of life for equal proportions of both groups (64%).

The scale tips when it comes to friends being more important than family - single Americans (26%) are more likely to say so, than committed ones (19%).

Further, YouGov demographic data reveals that men are more likely than women (25% vs. 19%) in the US to give friends more importance than family.

Also read: Exploring dynamics of friendship in Great Britain

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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the US is nationally representative of the online population and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.

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