Are Reiwa-era high school students keeping it broad and shallow? Ranking the number of friends they want to stay in touch with after graduation

It's graduation season.

While some groups of high school students stand in front of the school gate promising to "stay in touch forever!", others might be thinking to themselves, "I probably won't see them again..."

Even within the same high school experience, the "number of friends one wants to stay in touch with after graduation" seems to vary significantly from person to person. Just how many friends do they actually want to keep in contact with?

"Wakamono Research," a marketing information site targeting teenagers and current high school students (https://wakamono-research.co.jp/media/), conducted a survey of current high school students (male and female) across Japan, asking, "How many friends do you want to stay in touch with after graduation?" We are sharing a portion of those results here.

【Ranking of the number of friends to stay in touch with after graduation! #1 is "10 people"】

When we ranked the results of this survey, the number one answer was "10 people" (22.2%), indicating that many high school students envision relatively "broad" human relationships.

Students who answered 10 people shared comments such as:

"Because they are all important friends."

"Because everyone is important."

"I want to keep in touch with the people I'm close to now."

"I think it's probably about that many."

"Because we are good friends."

These responses reveal a sentiment of wanting to cherish everyone they interacted with during their high school life.

Additionally, since human relationships are formed in various places during high school—such as in classes, clubs, school festivals, and committees—many seem to feel that this number naturally adds up when combining multiple communities, with comments like:

"I have about 10 close friends outside of my class."

"Friends and club teammates."

"I want to stay in touch with my club classmates."

Others mentioned, "Because I have many friends I like," suggesting that rather than being conscious of a specific number, they answered based on the feeling that the number naturally lands around 10 when they think of the friends they are currently close to.

Ranked second was "5 people" (20.1%).

While this is a smaller number than 10, it reflects a mindset of "wanting to cherish those who I truly get along with."

"Especially the friends I'm closest to..."