Sociological analysis of students’ ideas about friendship as a socio-cultural phenomenon

Friendship is a socio-cultural phenomenon, the nature of which is influenced by historical, cultural, political, economic conditions, as well as the values of society. The understanding of friendship transforms as society evolves. The young people’s ideas are of great interest for research, since the young generation expresses values that will replace the existing ones. The objectives of this study are to determine how friendships are formed, to identify factors that affect friendly relations and their duration, to characterize students’ ideas about friendship. The paper presents the results of a sociological study that was conducted by a questionnaire survey of 350 students at the Kuban State Technological University. A secondary analysis of the results of sociological research conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Public Opinion Foundation was also carried out. It is concluded that young people have fewer barriers to friendship, including its new forms.