It Takes 1-2 Years to Develop a Romantic Relationship... The Boundary Between Love and Friendship Is Blurred
[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] Is love something that starts when a stranger man and woman meet and sparks fly? That is a story commonly seen in movies or TV dramas, but in reality, it usually begins with friendship.
According to new research published on the 12th in the academic journal Social Psychological and Personality Science (SPPS), two-thirds of romantic relationships sprout from friendship.
Professor Dane Anthony Stinson of the Psychology Department at the University of Victoria in Canada, who led this study, pointed out that researchers have often overlooked romances that start as friendships. Reviewing previous studies on how romantic relationships begin, 75% focused on sparks flying between strangers. Only 8% of the research paid attention to romances that gradually developed from friendships.
Professor Stinson stated, "People often think they know how and why two strangers choose each other and fall in love as a couple, but in most cases, this is not true."
His research team analyzed data from 1,900 randomly selected college students and adults. The results showed that 68% of them reported their current or most recent romantic relationship originated from friendship. This ratio was unrelated to gender, education level, or race. However, romantic relationships starting from friendship were relatively higher among people in their twenties and sexual minorities, reaching as high as 85%.
For college students, it took about one to two years for a friendship to develop into a romantic relationship. The researchers also found that most of these participants did not become close friends initially with romantic intentions or attraction. They were true friends before falling in love. Interestingly, 47.4% of these students preferred developing from friends to lovers rather than meeting through blind dates, parties, or online encounters.
Professor Stinson interpreted that the prevalence of romantic relationships beginning from pure friendship suggests we need to reconsider our concepts of love and friendship. This is because people have commonly learned that love and friendship are different types of human relationships formed in different ways.
Professor Stinson said, "In short, the boundary between love and friendship is blurred," adding, "We need to change our existing notions about how good friendships and good romantic relationships are formed."
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