THE TRUTH ABOUT SOCIAL FRIENDSHIPS: BRITS COUNT JUST 5% OF THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS AS ‘CLOSE’ FRIENDS

- Brits have an average of 100-200 followers on social media, however in reality consider just 3-5 of them as ‘close’ friends

- 69% desire more face time with friends over connecting on social media (11%)

- Social media the booster – 23% claim it takes just 10-25 likes to increase confidence

Research commissioned by Diet Coke has found that Brits have an average of between 100- 200 social media followers, yet only 3-5 who they would consider ‘close’ friends offline.

The research*, commissioned to celebrate Diet Coke’s Get The Gang Back Together campaign, also found that despite the continued dominance of social media, what we all really yearn for is quality face to face time with our friends and when asked about their preferred means of communication with friends, 69% opted for catching up in person rather than via social media (11%), group chats (8%), text message (8%) or a phone call (3%).

As encouraging as it may seem to hear how traditional means of nurturing friendships and relationships haven’t been forgotten altogether, social media appears to be playing a significant role in the way that we form some friendships in the first place. Over half of Brits (54%) claim to have met up with someone they originally met on social media and 44% say they made a new best friend thanks to their online networks.

Social media is also proving to be a necessary source of confidence for many given that 23% admit that it takes just 10-25 likes to make us feel valued by our online friends and 60% also stating that getting likes helps to boost their confidence.

Natalie Whitehead- Farr, Senior Brand Manager for Coca-Cola Great Britain added, “Diet Coke is all about celebrating those amazing moments we have with our friends.

“The rise of social media means that we can communicate with our friends easily and it is also a great tool for meeting new people. However, it is encouraging to see that we all really do value the opportunity to share good times in person, which is what we are calling for people to do more.”

This year, Diet Coke launched the Get The Gang Back Together campaign, celebrating and encouraging the amazing moments friends share when they are together. #ItStartedWithADietCoke

-Ends-

*Statistics are taken from a survey of 2,008 UK adults aged between 18-50, commissioned by Diet Coke and conducted by Morar in April 2017.


Further Statistics:

- 95% of Brits consider their real life relationships more important than their online relationships

- 65% of Brits prefer to share personal news with friends and family before sharing on social media

- Brits would prefer to communicate with their friends in person:

o In person (69%)

o Via social media (11%)

o Group chats (8%)

o Text message (8%)

o Phone call (3%)

· When asked to rank the following in order of importance, Brits placed friends at the top of their list:

1. Friends

2. Money

3. Partner

4. Opportunity to buy a home

5. Access to a mobile phone

6. Holiday

7. Shopping

8. Access to social media


For further information or imagery, please email dietcoke@lexisagency.com or contact Katie O'Driscoll on kodriscoll@lexisagency.com / 07814 514398

About Diet Coke

- Diet Coke is the world’s #1 diet soft drink

- It has a global value of over $11 billion

- It is sold in 167 markets

- A total of 2.7 billion people in Europe have consumed Diet Coke since its launch in 1983

- Over 7 billion people have enjoyed 336 billion litres of Diet Coke globally over the past three decades


© 2016 The Coca-Cola Company. All rights reserved. DIET COKE is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company.