Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
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Fun article I found: East Asians rarely have imaginary friends as children, whereas Westerners have imaginary friends at a prevalence of 50%. On the other hand, East Asians are more likely to personify inanimate objects. The authors say that this is for cultural reasons, but i’m actually leaning toward deep genetic differences in tendency — Western religion, poetry, and music are much more likely to extol brotherly affection than those of East Asia, which (imo) favors an emphasis on place, natural objects, and strict hierarchy.
I have never heard an Indian child claim to have imaginary friends.
If I had to guess, I'd say it's a socially contagious phenomenon largely unique to the US.
Growing up in Soviet space, I don't remember anybody ever talking about imaginary friends. I mean, there were stories and games that would probably be classified as "imaginary friend" type by a US person, but nobody thought about it that way really. I think you're right, it's a Western - and likely American - thing.
Growing up in Soviet space, I didn't have imaginary friends, but my younger cousin had a whole imaginary family. I, however, have my internal monologue structured as an internal lecture, so I kinda have an imaginary audience of one.
Oh man, I knew I should have read the whole thread before replying to problem's echopraxia review. I do something similar, although it's more a conversation than a lecture and multiple mes participate - although when I was young they weren't other mes they were facsimiles of (mostly adult) family and acquaintances. But I knew they weren't real, I called them the dream version (dream mum, dream dad, dream Mr Harrison and so on.)
My little brother had an imaginary friend though, and we were pretty certain he imagined him as opposed to just pretending to imagine him. My other brother and I tested it, and when he believed his imaginary friend had done something his behaviour was sincere and completely different to how he behaved when he was lying about not doing something. I remember once he used two towels after a bath - his own and my other brother's - and insisted his imaginary friend had used the second, and he broke down crying when we didn't believe him.
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