User:Carly michel/sandbox

Russia:

Many of Russia's culture qualities date back to Soviet times. Times were tough, and many people had to create relationships with people in certain businesses in order to get the things they needed. If you needed to get your child into a hospital, it would be best to know someone in medicine, or working in the hospital. Everyone worked to help one another and make personal connections (Babaeva 2010). Many of these characteristics carry through into the lifestyles of Russian's today but for some different reasoning. The government serves to be very inefficient for its citizens, and there isn't many public services for people either. Citizens in Russia find it much easier to rely on their friends and family whom they trust, then to rely on any company or business. These types of relationships are valued greatly in Russia, because this is history, things have always worked this way, therefore it makes sense to stick to tradition (Babaeva 2010). There has also been different types of research done that also proves the intimacy that Russian's share in their relationships. Dating back to when communists existed, it became harder for Russian's to form relationships, in fear of wether or not they would be accused of something by them. That being said, people in Russian communities had very few friends, but the friends they did have were extremely close, personal relationships that they valued greatly. Many Russians continue with these types of relationships today, they have friends that they will tell everything to and they trust and have the upmost respect for (Sheets & Lugar 2005). In many countries in the world, the word friend is tossed around ver loosely, a friend is anyone from someone you have a deep, personal relationship with, to a person you see occasionally and may not know much about. However, in Russia there is a different name for those different types of relationships and the word "friend" is only used for a person that you have a deep, intimate relationship with (Cowen 2011). Many people in Russian communities can come off as cold and distant at first meeting, but once some trust is gained with a person, the community will open up and show the person the warmth and love of friendship (Jebens 2011).

United States:

In the Unites States, friendship is a more loosely based term. From the time children enter elementary school, most teachers and adults call every other peer they have a "friend" and in most classrooms, or any social setting, children are dictated as to how to behave with their friends, and are told who their friends are. This leaves for a very different base for what a friend should actually be (Stout 2010). This type of open approach to friendship, has made it so many Americans, adolescents in particular, have taken on the term "best friend". (Stout 2010). Many psychologists have deemed this term as dangerous for American children. This term is so dangerous because it allows for discrimination and groups to form, which causes for bullying in many American schools (Stout 2010). Many people in the United States have come to define their friends in a particular way, and research proves this has been happening for nearly 30 years (Sheets & Lugar 2005). For Americans, friends are people who you encounter fairly frequently that is similar to yourself in demographic, attitude, and activity (Sheets & Lugar 2005). While many other cultures value deep trust and meaning to their friendships, Americans will use the word "friend" to describe any person who has the qualities mentioned before (Stout 2010). There is also a difference in America between men and women who have friendships with the same sex. It has been studied, that it seems men in America have less deep and meaningful friendships with other men, as women have in friendships with other women. Many men and women in the United States have been studied to have similar definitions and ideas of intimacy, but when it comes to applying their intimacy to friendships, women do this with a deeper meaning (Yugar & Shapiro 2001). While studies do suggest these outcomes, it is hard to say exactly where this originated from, since there does not seem to be a historical explanation for it ( Yagar & Shapiro 2001). Many studies have also found that Americans, as time goes on, and life becomes busier; will often lose touch with friends, where as other cultures take on a more intense value. For example, an American may see a long time friend and talk about wanting to get something to eat or catch up, with no real intentions of fulfilling that suggestion. It has been studied that this can be an unusual occurrence in many other cultures (Sheets & Lugar 2005).