How many close friends is too many? In Britain, it seems to be a question of why we don’t have more. A global study of 10,000 people by Snapchat has found that Britons have fewer “best friends” – 2.6 on average – than those in other countries. In Saudi Arabia, participants reported 6.6 best friends on average. But do we really need any more?

According to the MIT Technology Review, humans can cope with a maximum of five friends in their closest friendship circle. Meanwhile, Robin Dunbar, a psychologist at the University of Oxford, found in a 2016 study of 27,000 European phone-call logs that, on average, each person studied had 4.1 intimate relationships. So, how does the amount of close friends we have affect our lives? We took to the streets to find out.

Alvin Jones, 70

Best friends: one

All photographs: Ammar Kalia/The Guardian

“A best friend is someone who will always tell you the truth, no matter how bad it is. My best friend, Doug, is someone whom I’ve grown up with: we lived in flats opposite each other when we were five years old. He’s now the godfather to my two children and is the brother I’ve never had. Sadly, we’re in a bit of a rough patch at the moment, because of our opposing views on Brexit, but I hope we can patch things up.”

Caroline Hamlett, 32

Best friends: five

“I lived with three of my best friends at university, but now they don’t get along with each other, so I have individual relationships with them. When I get married in a few months, I’ll be having only one bridesmaid, my sister, but I still want everyone there.”

Ted Allott, 30

Best friends: three

“Sometimes it feels as if the only way I stay in touch with my best mates is through tagging them in social media posts. As you get older, your relationships dwindle, especially since we are all so focused on work.”

Rich Smith, 60

Best friends: four

“I’ve lived all over the world, from being born and raised in England to moving to Australia and now raising my family in Taiwan, so my friends reflect that. All four of us go on holiday at least once a year without our wives and they’re the people I trust most.”

MJ, 25

Best friends: four

“All of my best friends serve different purposes in my life: some are childhood mates whom I can talk to at any time, others are friends I have a good time with and have met more recently – you need different people to rely on. I’m not surprised that people here are finding it harder to make and maintain close friendships, though: it’s such a divisive political climate. It seems easier than ever to fall out.”

Aneta Gesiorska, 28

Best friends: one

“I moved to the UK five years ago from Poland and my best friend still lives there. We’ve known each other since we were seven and we still talk regularly – she’s coming to visit next week. She hates it here, though, and would never move.”

Taylor Long, 20

Best friends: zero

“‘Best friend’ is an outdated term; I’m close with all of my friends and I wouldn’t consider that I have one, or a few, who are more special than others. It’s important to have lots of people around, as you never know where life will take you.”