Facebook users used to have a significantly larger number of friends. The social networking site encouraged users to “friend” as many people as possible. However, around 2007, users started questioning the nature of these friendships. It was then realized that humans can only effectively manage around 150 relationships at any given time. This realization became known as “Dunbar’s number.” So, thanks to Facebook, this limitation became widely recognized.
While modern technology may have brought attention to this concept, Dunbar’s number is based on the principles of evolutionary biology. Humans, like other primates, have a limit on the size of their social network due to the constraints of our brain size. I discovered this two decades ago through my research, indicating that we can only meaningfully engage with around 150 individuals. Regardless of how outgoing we are, this limitation is universal. However, recent research on friendships has revealed some intriguing individual differences.
My colleagues and I have made enlightening findings regarding the amount of time people invest in cultivating various relationships in their social networks, the formation and dissolution of friendships, and the qualities we seek in our friends. One unexpected discovery is that each person has a unique “social fingerprint” – a distinctive pattern in which they allocate their social effort. This pattern appears to be independent of the actual individuals in one’s friendship circle at any given moment. However, it does reveal significant details about an individual’s identity and may even impact their ability to cope with social restrictions…
[Unique Insight: The concept of Dunbar’s number, which suggests humans can only maintain meaningful relationships with around 150 individuals, has become widely recognized in the age of social media. However, recent research on friendships has shed light on the individual variations in how we allocate our social effort and the impact it has on our social bonds.]
