Too Many Friends?

(Thumbnail image: issnaf.org)

Can you have too many friends?  Oxford University professor Robin Dunbar says yes.  The anthropologist developed a theory called “Dunbar’s Number” in the ‘90s, which says human brains can only manage meaningful friendships with around 150 people at a time.

Now, Dunbar is studying whether the theory also applies to social networking.  His preliminary research shows that it does- you can’t have meaningful connections with more than 150 people on social networking Web sites.

We’re taking a look at whether social networking sites actually expand social circles, with perspectives from The Times Online, Physorg.com, Social Media Today, CNN, PBS, FOX, and The Times of India.

First up, Dunbar explains why social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter don’t expand social circles in an article from the UK’s Times Online.

“The interesting thing is that you can have 1,500 friends but when you actually look at traffic on sites, you see people maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world.”

PHYSORG.com reports that a research scientist with Facebook confirmed Dunbar’s research.  The scientist…

“…said last year he had found Facebook users only communicate regularly with a small core of their listed friends.”

But in a blog from Social Media Today, Jacob Morgan says social networking sites expand the social circle with weak- but still beneficial- connections.  On the other hand, CNN reports how the average social network user is still sticking to Dunbar’s Number.

"Research shows that weak ties can prove much more helpful in networking, because they form bridges to worlds we do not walk within.  Strong ties, on the other hand, tend to be worlds we already know…They are not the best when it comes to searching for new jobs, ideas, experts, and knowledge."

"Not everyone is trying to expand his or her social Web.  The average user has 130 friends on the site, right in line with what Dunbar says they can handle."

And those with social circles of more than 150 people?  Why do they connect with more than Dunbar’s Number? Yale University’s Karen Wynn explains on PBS's “The Human Spark,” and an anchor on “FOX and Friends” weighs in too.

“One thing that is clearly true of the human species is that we are a profoundly cooperative, social species, where cooperation is necessary to survival.”

"It’s a bragging point.  I've got 5,000 friends.  Oh, you do?  How many do you really have and how many do you really communicate with?  The answer is only a fraction of them."

An op-ed in The Times of India suggests a different theory for predicting the number of meaningful connections social network users can manage.

“A far more plausible theory one based simply on daily experience…is simply this: the number of friends we have is limited only by the time available and the effort it takes to keep in touch.”

How does your social circle online compare to your social circle offline?  Do you use social networking to connect with new people or keep in touch with friends?

Writer: Courtney Cebula

Producer: Nathan Giannini