Study: Bromances run deep

The average man has six defined types of friends, according to a new report on male friendship, which says most men rely on the pilot, rock, explorer, wit, hero and coach for moral guidance and emotional support.

“The Evolution of Friendship” report uses research and interviews with experts and academics alongside chats with groups of men in New York, Shanghai, London, Moscow and Mexico City to explore the dynamics of 21st century male friendship.

It argues that it has become more important for modern men to forge deep relationships with a core group of friends as a way to operate in an increasingly complex world and that those men are more in touch with each other’s feelings. …

The report argues the evolution of friendship has moved from the reserved 19th and 20th century model, in which men were more independently minded, to a 21st century interconnected world of the kind depicted in films such as “Wedding Crashers,” in which two friends openly profess their emotional reliance on each other.