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20% of Your Facebook Friends Are Strangers

60% are just acquaintances, study finds

(Newser) - A fifth of your Facebook friends are people you don’t even know—and three-fifths are just acquaintances, a study finds. The fact that only 20% of your friends are your actual friends may not come as a surprise to the average Facebook user, notes AllFacebook.com , but it’s... More »

Everyone's Magic Number of Friends: 150

Anthropologist: That's the limit for meaningful relationships, online or off

(Newser) - Facebook and other social networks promise an unlimited number of potential friends, but anthropologist Robin Dunbar spots a "fundamental flaw" in that logic: "Our minds." Humans are cable of having meaningful relationships with a maximum of about 150 people, whether they're online or off, writes Dunbar in... More »

New Social Network Limits Friends to 50

Founders believe people will share even more

(Newser) - If you were moved by Jimmy Kimmel's recent push for a National Unfriend Day , you should be glad to hear this news: New social network Path launches today, and it limits you to your nearest and dearest 50 friends. Path's limit is in keeping with the work of evolutionary anthropologist... More »

No More BFFs: Schools Intervene

Educators, psychologists argue over what's healthier

(Newser) - Remember your childhood best friend, the person you shared secrets and slumber parties with? Your son or daughter might never have that experience. “Parents sometimes say Johnny needs that one special friend. We say he doesn’t need a best friend,” one counselor tells the New York Times... 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... More »

Young Are Much Lonelier Than the Old

Study: 'epidemic of loneliness' among 18-34

(Newser) - Loneliness plagues the young more than the old, a new study suggests. In a survey of 2,256 Brits, about 60% of people 18 to 34 said they often or sometimes felt lonely, compared to only 35% of those over 55, reports the BBC . The findings, a psychiatrist tells the... More »

What Price Love? $63.34 on Valentine's Day

Spending on spouses or partners is expected to drop

(Newser) - The recession hath made its mark on love, as an industry group expects Valentine’s Day spending to fall by about 6% this year compared to last. The National Retail Federation estimates someone in a relationship will spend $63.34 this year on their spouse or significant other, a drop... More »

Loneliness Is Communicable

Feel bad, friends feel bad—but only for 3 degrees of separation

(Newser) - Lonelyhearts of the world unite—your malaise may not be the fault of your particular situation, but rather that of contagious ill-feeling. A new study finds that loneliness is infectious—lonely neighbors that interact regularly with those next-door pass on increased loneliness. So “you can use your friends to... More »

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