Some people consider others their friends very easily but what criteria is good to use to actually determine what makes a friend?

Read Chapter 6 of Ecclesiasticus
6:11 A friend if he continue steadfast, shall be to thee as thyself, and shall act with confidence among them of thy household.  12 If he humble himself before thee, and hide himself from thy face, thou shalt have unanimous friendship for good.  13 Separate thyself from thy enemies, and take heed of thy friends.  14 A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found him, hath found a treasure  15 Nothing can be compared to a faithful friend, and no weight of gold and silver is able to countervail the goodness of his fidelity.

In his book Self-Knowledge & Self-Discipline, Fr. B. W. Maturin says that moral sympathy is a prerequisite for friendship.

Moral sympathy is essential when you have wronged someone and seek to make amends, but it is also necessary when you see that person wronged and can truly understand and be there for them. We can see how this applies especially to our friendship with God because holiness consists of friendship with God, and without keeping the commandments, we are not His friends- precisely as Our Lord says in the gospel.

As Soubirous said, if we think about it, we may see that we do not have many friends at all.

One of the things I learned during meditation was how lonely God must be at times… Remember Jesus in the Garden? I do my best to remember this when I am going through hard times. God, in fact, does sympathize with me. He knows what this is like. What better person is there to share this moral sympathy with?

Truly powerful to me.

God bless you.

My husband is my friend. 

I'm glad someone fixed the title. 

I'm glad someone fixed the title.

What are friends for?

Im opposed to the over generalisation of friendship. I make clear distinction between acquaintances, companions, and friends in my life. A true friend to me has to be catholic, have common interests, and helpful in growth spiritually. On that note, I don't see the whole socialisation ONLY"to know people" necessarily beneficial. God bless.