The survey also found that 2 in 7 Indians meet a close friend through online dating apps and maintain the friendship through regular texts and virtual interactions
The survey says online friendships are low-effort, high-reward. Image for representational purpose only. Photo Courtesy: istock
With the social media boom, many people have found friends online and that has often translated into friendship, if not into a romantic relationship.
There was a time when best friends lived across the street from each other but now, distance no longer limits friendships. The 2025 version of BFF can exist even through mere textationship.
According to a new survey conducted by Indian dating app QuackQuack, 2 in 7 Indians meet a close friend through online dating apps and maintain the friendship through regular texts and virtual interactions.
The study was conducted the weeks before Friendship Day, and 8,500 random users between the ages of 18 and 40 were selected to participate. It focused on the behavioural patterns of daters that extend beyond romance and the platonic connections formed on dating apps that often develop into real-life friendships. Participants came from Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities and spanned across various educational and professional fields, including IT, healthcare and medicine, finance, sales and marketing, art, architecture, academia, administration, and more.
The app's founder and CEO, Ravi Mittal, commented, “Our survey showed that about 21 per cent of users find entirely platonic friends online, some even replacing real-life friends who are too busy. With hectic work, social fatigue, and frequent moves abroad, many lack energy for high-effort friendships. Whereas, online friendships are low-effort, high-reward.”
The flag bearer of the trend
The survey shows that GenZ is the biggest driver of this platonic textationship trend, with 27 per cent of respondents between 18 and 25 admitting they now regularly text some people they met online, and it’s purely friendly. Millennials were not far behind; more than 15 per cent of these daters disclosed making new friends online whom they interact with more than childhood friends. This was especially true for those who moved to different cities.
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Men or women: Who’s more inclined to it?
Interestingly, women are more inclined to make online friends than men. The survey says 3 in 5 female users from Tier 2 and 3 cities shared forming app-based friendships that are entirely platonic. Whereas, only 1 in 5 male users seemed interested in the same. The survey highlighted that many women, especially from the smaller cities, have limited opportunities for socialising IRL, making virtual friends a bigger hit among the lot; dating apps double as a platform to meet like-minded people not only romantically but also for genuine friendships. The study also revealed that these connections often survive entirely on textationships. Men, on the other hand, seemed more goal-oriented, primarily and specifically seeking romantic and romance-like connections.
The skeptics
The younger daters are championing the trend, but those users over 35 years are more on guard, especially when it comes to awarding someone the tag of best friend. Only 7 per cent in this age range expressed interest in making online friends and textationships. Most users against the idea cited reasons such as concern over realness, missing the closeness, and also, being too old for digital-only bonds. 38-year-old Savitri from Bengaluru shared, “I want to meet my friends, go to cafes, laugh together; basing my entire friendship on meme-sharing and texting won’t cut it for me.”
The pros and cons
The survey says 34 per cent of daters between 25 and 35 explained that platonic textationships that lead to genuine friendships offer more flexibility over traditional ways; moreover, it’s a dream come true for introverts who struggle to make friends as adults. Mihir from Kanpur commented, “Meeting friends through online dating apps is far better than socialising offline; there’s a lot of time constraint in the latter. Can you talk for hours on the first day if this were IRL? And when will you meet next? Online is more time-independent and requires minimal effort. Plus, you can dive into serious discussions on the very first chat; there’s no hard and fast rule that it has to start with hi and hello.”
However, arguing against the trend, 17 per cent of daters from Tier 1 cities said every glittery DM is not gold. Platonic textationships have their limitations. 4 in 9 of these users revealed that these friendships suddenly start mimicking a romantic connection, especially from one side. There has been occasional jealousy once they start dating someone else, and the intensity of texting the “friend” reduces. Shikha (31), a doctor from Mumbai, said, “I am always pressed for time, so textationships, friendly or romantic, should be my first preference, but it still isn’t. There’s always this chance of getting digital burnout; I mean, without real-life interaction, how can I be emotionally invested in a person? I feel it’s good for people with social anxiety, but if you don’t have it, IRL friendship that’s not relying solely on texts makes more sense to me.”
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