Rainbow’s End Survey Reveals 50% of Our Facebook Contacts Are Not Real Life Friends

With International Friendship Day taking place on Sunday 30 July, Rainbow’s End has conducted a survey of theme park goers, to find out what the modern New Zealand friendship looks like.

The results have revealed that most Kiwis (20%) have five close friends, with only 7% claiming that they have more than ten good mates. However, this number isn’t reflected in their social media profiles.

Only 28% of New Zealanders said that they are friends with almost all of their Facebook friends in real life. Almost a quarter reported they are friends with less than half of their Facebook contacts. An additional ten percent said that they are not friends with more than three-quarters of the people on their Facebook friends list.

When Kiwis do catch up with their friends, text is the most regularly used communications tool, with 42% favouring this method. Only 6% like to chat with their friends on the phone, and email is even less popular at 0.58%.
Katharine Murray, Rainbow’s End Marketing Manager said:

“The results of the Friendship Day survey have been fascinating. We have more connections than ever before and almost everyone has a phone. However, the study we ran – and others like it from around the world – shows that we are now socialising more online than in person. People would rather text than talk.”
Katharine hopes that International Friendship Day will remind Kiwis of how enjoyable it is to catch up with friends face to face.

“Rainbow’s End is all about fun and laughter with friends and family. We still see plenty of Kiwis of all ages coming for a day out, which is great to see. People are clearly still getting together in person to enjoy shared experiences and events.”

“While chatting and posting online can be a great way to keep in touch, nothing can replace spending time with someone in person,” added Katharine. “We’d like to challenge anyone that hasn’t caught up with their friends in a while, to organise something in person this International Friendship Day.”

Rainbow’s End is the perfect place to spend time with friends and family this International Friendship Day. Visit rainbowsend.co.nz for more information, and keep an eye on the park’s Facebook page for special deals and competitions: facebook.com/RainbowsEndNZ.

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