Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite Mack Wolford believed faith compelled him to face the risk »

Real-Life Social Network Stays Same Size

You replace half of old friends with new ones every 7 years: study

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Jun 3, 2009 12:57 PM CDT

(Newser) – It might not be so on Facebook, but the size of people’s actual social networks stays about the same throughout life, LiveScience reports. Most people replace half their friends every 7 years, a survey of 1,000 people finds. The study—which also notes... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

1 comment

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite

Miami Face-Eater Identified

LiveScience (Source Grid »)

Best pals are a support group
Indian Express

Making friends with non-friends
Daily Kos

Science • Lifestyle

social networking • study • Facebook • survey • friendship

More Newser Stories

Facebook Users Have More Real Friends

...and other surprising social network stats

(NEWSER) - Facebook friends aren’t real buddies, right? Wrong, according to a new study. People who use the social network multiple times a day have an average of “9% more close, core ties in their overall social network compared with other internet users,” the Pew study says. And yes, they have actually met almost all their Facebook friends: Only 7% of their friend list consists of people they’ve never spoken to in real life, Mashable reports. More»

Facebook Strengthens Relationships

Those 'friends' you don't know may serve a purpose

(NEWSER) - Facebook "friendships" may seem superficial—but they actually strengthen social ties, a study suggests. “Facebook is not supplanting face-to-face interactions between friends, family, and colleagues,” a professor behind the study tells Reuters . After surveying 900 college students and recent grads about their Facebook activities, researchers found “evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy, and community.” More»

Facebook Friends: How Many Is Too Many?

Even the social network says to can it at 5K

(NEWSER) - Sure, you get by with a little help from your friends, but in the überfriendly world of Facebook, how many is too many? One professor sets the number of meaningful relationships one can handle at 150, and even Facebook itself will cut you off at the you-can't-possibly-know-all-these-people number of 5000. But tell that to the adults mass-collecting friends like they were pimply-faced middle-schoolers again, reports the New York Times. More»

Facebook Users Get Lower Grades

Then again, non-users study 11-15 hours a week

(NEWSER) - College students who use Facebook are less likely to be crowing about their grades in status updates, according to a new study that found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that non-Facebooking students get significantly higher grades. The Facebook users all said in a survey that the site didn’t interfere with their study habits, but on average they spent only one to five hours a week studying—compared with 11-15 for non-users. More»

Facebook Stock Falls Below $30

Social network sees 20% plunge since IPO

(NEWSER) - Facebook shares continue to plummet: They've now dropped more than 20% from their $38 IPO price, falling below $30 today to their lowest point yet, reports Reuters . At about 12:45pm EDT they were trading at $29.44. But among tech stocks, $30 per share still gives it a comparatively "generous" valuation, notes Dan Gallagher at MarketWatch : The site is trading at about 55 times its estimated earnings for this fiscal year. Google, on the other hand, trades at about 14 times its estimated earnings, and Apple, IBM, and Microsoft are in the same ballpark. But he notes that higher valuations seem more common among social sites: Groupon trades at some 64 times its estimated earnings, while LinkedIn is trading at a hefty 145 times its estimated earnings. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Real-Life Social Network Stays Same Size

You replace half of old friends with new ones every 7 years: study

social networking • study • Facebook • survey • friendship

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Facebook Users Have More Real Friends

...and other surprising social network stats

Facebook Strengthens Relationships

Those 'friends' you don't know may serve a purpose

Facebook Friends: How Many Is Too Many?

Even the social network says to can it at 5K

Facebook Users Get Lower Grades

Then again, non-users study 11-15 hours a week

Facebook Stock Falls Below $30

Social network sees 20% plunge since IPO

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?