“The term “BEST FRIENDS” has gotten a bit romanticized.  But basically, a best friend is a person who cares about your well being. One who respects you and is willing to spend time (a major resource) to help you if you need it and be there for you both in the good and the bad times.  Quantity spent together is in fact not a necessity. The reason why people say “the person who you spend time the most” is because they are using the misconception that spending a lot of time with people will automatically make you best friends with them. Which is not necessarily true, although it is not hard to assume that you might want to spend time with people who respect you. 

The quality of connection can be very subjective and although time can be a somewhat safe factor, the real way to know is if the other person likes you is if they respect you. I have for example best friends that due to everyday life I do not see often (6 months or more) but I know that if I called (or if they called me) at 3:00am for help, we would be there for each other. 

It has been said before that “a best friend” is a relationship without the romantic love.”