With whom do we like to spend our free time and are we a good friend?

Milan DinicDirector - Content Strategy and Innovation
November 22, 2019, 4:45 PM GMT+0

The YouGov Personality study has looked at who with do the British like to spend their free time as well as how important is friendship for us and are we a good friend.

Our results show that over half of us like to spend our free time with our partners (53%), and a similar number say with family (55%). Three in ten (31%) say they prefer to spend it with one friend, and four in ten (41%) prefer to spend their free time with several friends. One in four (26%) like spending their free time with pets, while 41% like being alone.

Significantly more women (64%) than men (46%) like spending their free time with family. Also, three in ten among women (31%) prefer to spend their free time with pets compared to one in five among men (25%). Men (43%) are somewhat more likely than women (38%) to prefer spending their free time on their own.

The gender divide

Between spending time with family or with close friends, the majority of British men and women give advantage to their families. However, seven out of ten women (68%) say they like spending time with family, while that goes for six out of ten men (59%). Consequently, one in five among men (20%) prefer to spend their free time with friends, while this goes for one out of seven women (14%).

The importance of friendship

For most of us (68%) friendship is important, but for one in four people in Britain (26%), friendship does not play an important role in their lives. Interestingly three out of ten men (31%) and two out of nine (22%) women are likely to disregard friendship.

What keeps friendships going

However, for those for whom it does play a role - why do they choose to have the friends they have, and what do they discuss when they are with their friends? Six in ten (61%) Britons say that shared interests play a major role in their friendships, while 43% say fun, and/or play.

Just under a third (31%) of British people cite intellectual discussion as being central to friendships – more men (35%) than women (27%) prioritise this. For one quarter (27%) of Brits, love plays an important role in friendship – including for 32% of women and 23% of men. Advice is an important aspect of friendship for 26% of women and 16% of men.

Finally, every two out of three people in Britain claim to be a good or an excellent friend (68%), while two in nine (22%) say they are ‘an OK friend’.

You can use our interactive charts to compare results and filter them with other questions and crossbreaks. To find out more about the YouGov Personality Study click here.

Image: Getty

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