Cover Story
Robin Dunbar, professor of evolutionary anthropology at Oxford, has posited that humans can maintain stable relationships with about 150 individuals, a number that corresponds to the size of average hunter-gatherer communities and functional military groups. But how many real friends do we have? According to Dunbar, far fewer.
130
Friends an average Facebook user has.
80
Community pages, groups, and events an average user is connected to.
150
“Dunbar’s Number.’’ In general, the number of stable relationships an individual is capable of maintaining.
15
Average number of “good friends’’ people have, according to Dunbar.
5
Average number of “intimate friends’’ people have, according to Dunbar.
Source: Facebook, The Guardian
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
