Researchers Find The Top 30 Indicators of a Best Friend
Never judging you, being completely honest – and not tagging you in a photo on social media without your approval are signs someone is a best friend, a study has found.
A poll of 2,000 adults has revealed the top 30 indicators of a best friend, including always keeping secrets, never gossiping behind your back and being able to talk about intimate things openly.
Knowing they are on the end of the phone around the clock, covering for each other when one of you needs an alibi and always remembering your birthday with a card also feature on the list.
Other signs of a best friend, revealed in the poll by Hallmark to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Forever Friends, include staying away from each other’s ex partners, having private jokes, knowing how the other is feeling with just one look at their face and being on first name terms with your parents.
It also emerged the average adult has 13 friends – two of which they consider to be best friends, showing that our friendships are changing from the traditional view of having only one best friend.
Tamsyn Johnston-Hughes from Hallmark, which commissioned the research ahead of Friendship Day on Sunday (August 6th), said: “Friends are a deeply integral part of our lives and a best friend can often be the most important person to you, but what makes a best friend?
“It may not always be an easy job, but having, and being a best friend can lead to some of the greatest times in your life which you will never forget, as well as having unwavering support when you need it, and visa versa.
“To celebrate 30 years of friendship with Forever Friends, we wanted to find out what people considered to be the top 30 signs of a true friend.”
The research, carried out on OnePoll.com, found you are most likely to meet your best friend while at school together.
Work is the second most common place to first meet your best friend followed by through other friends and at college or university.
But more than one in five still have the same best friend they had as a young child.
It also emerged 84 per cent believe a best friend is someone you can go weeks or months without seeing, in addition to one in ten admitting that a few months can pass between conversations.
But when they finally come together, it’s like they’ve never been apart.
The study also revealed that almost two thirds would be lost without their best friend.
And a sentimental 32 per cent of people even admitted to keeping greetings cards given to them by a best friend, with the oldest one being an average of almost 11 years old.
Tamsyn Johnston-Hughes, from Hallmark added: “We often hold onto keepsakes of all kinds to mark memorable times in our lives.
“Cards carry emotion and capture a moment in time, so can almost act as a type of diary of your lives events, which is why so many of us keep hold of them, so it does makes sense that we see them as being woven into the fibres of friendship in many cases.”
As part of their year-long 30th celebrations for Forever Friends, Hallmark have released a limited edition range of 52 cards with a fresh new contemporary look and style guide.
The top 30 signs someone is a true best friend
1. They never judge you
2. Always keeps your secrets
3. They’re always completely honest
4. You don’t need to talk to each other every day to know you are there for each other
5. Silences are never awkward
6. You go for long periods of time without talking or seeing each other but can pick things up as though you’ve never been apart
7. Never gossips about you behind your back
8. You can go on holiday with each other without falling out
9. You can talk about intimate things openly
10. They’re on the end of a phone around the clock
11. Knowing how to make each other laugh when you feel down
12. They make sure you get home OK when you’ve had too much to drink
13. You’re happy to share a room together without falling out
14. They say yes to helping you before even knowing what you want their help for
15. You just know how each other is feeling with one look at their face
16. You have private jokes only the two of you find funny
17. Always sends a birthday/Christmas card
18. Never goes after your ex-boyfriends/girlfriends
19. You can always move on from an argument as soon as it’s finished
20. You’re comfortable getting changed in front of each other
21. Always remembering the little things, like an appointment at the doctors or something you are nervous about
22. You would happily lend money to each other and not expect to see it back
23. Turning up with a bottle of wine / bunch of flowers to cheer you up
24. Knows your favourite drink
25. Will pick the children up from school and never ask for anything in return
26. They tell you when you have food in your teeth
27. They are on first name terms with your parents
28. Never judges your parenting styles, but listens to / joins in on your tales of how it really is
29. They cover for you when you need an alibi
30. They would never put an unflattering picture of you on Facebook without your approval