Speakout Street Interviews 1

H = Hina, W = Woman, M = Man

H:      Hi, I’m Hina. I work for the BBC here in London. I know a lot of people here but I only have a few close friends. I keep in touch with friends by texting, emailing and using social networking sites like Facebook. For me, a friend is someone I can trust and depend on, but also someone who makes me laugh. Today, we’re asking people about their friends.

M1:   I’ve got a nice circle of friends, they’re not too many but I like to keep in touch with both old friends and new friends.

W1:  I’ve got a small circle of close friends.

W2:  I have a few close friends, yeah.

W3:  Yeah, I’ve got a lot of close friends. I’ve met them through college … I actually moved over here with 3 friends so we all live together.

M2:   I’ve got close friends. I’m not the type of person to have lots of close friends. I like to have really close, close friends, and then I’ve got friends outside of that as well.

W4:  Yeah, I do have quite a few close friends.

M3:   I’m quite lucky. I have quite a large group of close friends.

M4:   I have a number of close friends.

H:      How do you keep in touch with them?

M1:   I keep in touch in all sorts of ways. I telephone, email… sometimes I might just call around their house.

W1:  The thing we have in common is that we’re all doing a similar kind of work, so we network within that circle quite a bit. Email, telephone.

W5:  Facebook, like, mainly and then MSN.

W2:  I’m on MSN a lot. I’m on Facebook. I go to see them but mostly texting and using the internet, like, social networking sites like Facebook.

W3:  Mainly, at the moment, through Facebook. I’m always on Facebook.

M2:   Usually by mobile phone. I send text messages and make phone calls.

W4:  Skype even, my family mainly.

M3:   We live all over the place, so it’s … the internet is the major way we do that. Email, or, or, networking sites.

M5:   Normally through the internet, but I like to write letters very often.

H:      What do you look for in a friend?

W3:  In a friend, I’d look for someone who’s quite trustworthy. I guess someone who’s quite creative, like myself; somebody who likes going out.

W2:  Honesty is probably the first one. If they’re not honest with me then they can’t be my friend.

W4:  Reliable and loyal. And fun and easy-going, I guess.

M1:   Sense of humour, I think.

W5:  Mainly like the personality and if they, like, have the same interests as me.

M3:   Mostly it’s people who can make me laugh. Or who I can share experiences with.

M5:   Loyalty, honesty, creativity.

W1:  Someone I can relate to. Someone I feel comfortable with. Someone I can be myself with. Someone who’s easy to talk to.

M2:   The qualities I look for in a friend - they have to be funny, they have to be kind and sincere, they have to be honest, and they have to be about this tall, otherwise I get intimidated