Instead of putting their friendship on the backburner when they meet ‘The One’, almost one in five still value their relationship with their pal more than they do with their other half.
But for 37 per cent of people, they have known their best friend for more than 30 years, making it one of the longest partnerships of their lives.
It also emerged more than four in ten adults have more than one best friend, with 37 per cent saying they have a maximum of three true friends as they opt for fewer, but stronger friendships.
And while 53 per cent of those polled for Hallmark to mark the 30th anniversary of the Forever Friends brand, believe social media makes it easier to stay in touch and build a wider range of connections, they feel it could result in friendships which are less meaningful than others.
The study also found that despite the rise of social media, friends still prefer to meet up through regular get togethers (47 per cent), phone calls (17 per cent) and text messaging (14 per cent), with social media lagging behind at just 13 per cent.
Relationship Expert Sam Owen, said: “You should aim to remain in frequent contact with your friends and if you can’t see each other in person, you can aim connect in other meaningful ways.
“For example, sending a handwritten card is more meaningful than sending a message on social media.
“We can socialise on social media whilst queuing for a coffee or at the bank. It doesn’t say much about our love or commitment to the other person.
“It takes effort and time to buy, write and send a card and that speaks volumes for how we feel about someone.
“Writing a card means you also leave a little bit of you on the card, with your handwriting, which in this day of increasing distance, is intimate, warming and powerful.”
The study, of 1,200 adults found loyalty is the thing we value most in our friends (19 per cent) followed by honesty (18 per cent) and reliability (16 per cent).
Just one in ten say they see ‘good fun’ as an important friendship trait.
It also revealed the majority of friendships are made at school, followed by in our first jobs and college or university.
But four in ten admit they don’t think friendships are valued as much as they were 30 years ago.
Tamsyn Johnston-Hughes from Hallmark, added: “It’s clear the way we nurture our friendships has changed a lot since the creation of the Forever Friends brand 30 years ago, but it’s nice to see that the core values of the brand remain significant today, with people placing an importance on having a few close friends.
“Once you’ve established a core group of friends, it’s important you don’t allow the ease of social media to take away from the real world ways of staying in contact, such as sending a card to let them know you’re thinking of them.”