MODERN friendships are based on overlapping tastes in TV, experts have confirmed.
Researchers have found that binge-able shows like The Crown and Stranger Things now function as essential bonding tools rather than entertainment.
Professor Henry Brubaker of the Institute for Studies, said: “In previous generations, friendship was based on affection, a sense of affinity or physical proximity because you worked in the same mine.
“Nowadays, however, alliances are built around asking which TV shows a potential friend is watching, and excitedly recounting the plots of key episodes together.”
His studies found that refusal to watch televisual modern classics like The Wire could limit a person’s friendship pool by up to 80 per cent, while staying abreast of hot-topic series’ such as The Handmaid’s Tale enabled people with terrible personalities to form connections.
Not having an opinion on the Great British Bake Off, meanwhile, was described by Brubaker as “nothing short of social suicide”.
Brubaker added that early indications from his latest research suggested that sharing pornography preferences was less effective in developing friendships.
