The Evolution of Friendship: Modern Man More Emotional With His Mates Reuters
go to original November 7, 2012

A new report on male friendship says modern men are more likely to share their emotions with their mates and be dependent on a core group of male friends.

The Evolution of Friendship report uses research and interviews with experts and academics, as well as chats with groups of men in New York, Shanghai, London, Moscow and Mexico City, to explore the dynamics of 21st century male friendship.

According to the report, it has become more important for modern men to forge deep relationships with a core group of friends as a way to operate in an increasingly complex world and that those men are more in touch with each other's feelings.

London-based psychologist Felix Economakis said in the report, by whisky maker Chivas Regal, that modern men have left behind the austere rules of friendship for more emotional demonstrations of vulnerability.

"I see quite a lot of young men who aren't afraid to say, 'I had an argument and I burst into tears' or, 'He's my best friend and I love him'," Economakis said.

The report argues the evolution of friendship has moved from the reserved 19th and 20th century model, in which men were more independently minded, to a 21st century interconnected world of the kind depicted in films such as Wedding Crashers, in which two friends openly profess their emotional reliance on each other.
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It describes such dynamics as "fireteam friendships", a basic unit of four or five friends who watch each others' backs, and argues that men who are in closer contact with their friends are happier, healthier and wealthier.

The report also identifies six defined types of friends - the pilot, the rock, the explorer, the wit, the hero and the coach - on whom men are likely to be dependent for moral guidance and emotional support.

In addition to the evolution of friendship, its impact on life and group dynamics, the report also concludes that emotional openness, trust and respect and a balanced attitude to success will continue to characterise friendships.

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