Why is often done in fiction that a pair of childhood friends will fall in love with each other later on in their life?

[AlicornSpell 147]

A big romance plot device that often happens in fiction is that 2 characters who have been friends since childhood end up developing romantic feelings for each other as either teenagers or adults. But however in real life, that rarely seems to be the case.

People who been friends with someone since childhood will most likely think of them as a sibling figure rather than a mate.

So I think that TV shows and movies and books and comic books and video games need to stop having "a pair of characters that have been friends with each other since childhood who then end up becoming more than friends later in their lives" happening as much as it does, since that seems like a rare thing in real life. Also that whole idea is very cliched too, so that's another reason why that idea needs to stop happening as much as it does.

[Hierok 11,833]

I think it is just easy to write. They already know eachother, but even more because of the fact they are often popular with the audience, so people think it is perfect. 

Edited July 23, 2018 by H'rok

[AlicornSpell 147]

3 minutes ago, Harper said:

Hi there, since this is discussing fiction / TV shows I am moving this to media discussion.  

Thank you.

[DJShy 952]

If I were to take a guess, the reason it exists is because the idea of someone who knows you would be the best person to date, as they would already know what you like and dislike, thereby skipping the extremely awkward part of dating.

[Jeric 46,884]

It happened to me IRL so in some cases it is art imitating life. While many micro and metropolitan areas have transient populations, rural areas are not as tranaient. Schools in extremely rural areas would be a great platforms for long term relationships. 

From a narrative standpoint, it's cute and romantic in the colloquial sense. 

[Dreambiscuit 11,479]

It's a charming idea, easy to write and fun for the audience. In TV, movies and games there are so many cliches so it's hard to avoid them. I don't mind cliches if they're written well or put a new twist on an old idea. But I don't think lifelong friends would necessarily develop a sibling-like relationship. It's just as probable, if not more so, that as they become older and puberty sets in, they'll develop in new, more romantic directions according to nature. 

[Steve Piranha 29,496]

I think there's a romantic appeal and idealistic, and it's a trope that resonates particularly well, despite it's rather rare occurrence in real life