No matter what life throws at you, female friendships are the nets we fall into when we need help or support. To find out more about women and their relationships, we asked our Girlfriend readers to complete an eight-question survey. After analyzing thousands of responses, we came away with some key takeaways.
A few of them may surprise you.
First, some 56.40 percent of women say their best friend knows them better than their spouse, while only 43.60 percent say their spouse knows them better. And more women, or 54.03 percent, say their best friend makes a bigger deal out of their birthday than their spouse. Only 45.97 percent of women say their spouse is most likely to help them celebrate.
And yet when asked who they'd rather be stuck with on a desert island, 54.50 percent of women said their spouse. Another 32.23 percent said their best friend while 7.11 percent cited a sibling. Perhaps most curious: 5.69 percent said they'd prefer to be stranded with their pet.
On another note, it seems most women treasure a smaller friend group over a larger one. Some 55.45 percent say they count only one to three people as close friends while 38.86 say they count four to six. A mere 3.32 percent said they have seven to nine close friends while only 2.37 percent say they have 10 or more. Women also seem to value long-term friendships and are good at maintaining them. A whopping 81.99 percent of women say they've known their best friend for 16 years or longer while 7.58 percent say they've known their bestie for 11 to 15 years. Only 5.69 percent say they've known their BFF for six to 10 years and 4.74 percent say they've known their best friend for five years or less.
The survey also suggests that most women connect with friends in not just one way but in a variety of ways. Older women in particular appear willing to stay in touch using an array of communication channels — social media, phone calls, texting and face-to-face conversation. Younger women seem to value in-person communication more than their older counterparts.
To read more about friendship in The Girlfriend, check out these stories.
The 5 Friends You Need In Your 40s
Help! Friend Needed Immediately!
The 'Forever People' In Your Life
Photographs by Stocksy (3); Getty Images (2)
