One paper asked adults who had recently moved, and first-year students, how much time they'd spent with people who became friends. Roughly: dozens of hours to go from acquaintance to casual friend, and a lot more than that to become close. The hours that counted were time spent hanging out, not time working together. Evidence: decent
Take this loosely. It's one paper, people estimating their own hours after the fact, and volunteers rather than a cross-section of the population. The shape is what to keep: a friend is dozens of hours, not one good evening. Evidence: decent
My reading, not the data: most new friendships stall because neither side suggests the second meeting. Evidence: worth trying Be the side that does. The other person probably liked you more than you think.
Same theme: Making new ones
Making new ones
Join something that repeats
Look up one thing near you that meets every week without you organising it. A club, a team, a volunteer shift, a class you stay after for a coffee. Go to the next one.
2 hours a weekEvidence: worth trying
Making new ones
They liked you more than you think
Got on with someone new? Assume it went better than it felt. Message them and suggest one specific thing.
1 minEvidence: decent