|
It's hard to make close friends on Facebook, study says
|
View this Thread in Original format
| dEsidEL |
| quote: |
It's hard to make close friends on Facebook, study says
Last Updated: Monday, September 10, 2007 | 1:36 PM ET
CBC News
Social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace aren't expanding people's circles of close friends, but they are creating plenty of meaningless relationships, according to British researchers.
A study of the sites revealed that while many users have hundreds or even thousands of acquaintances on their accounts, their core group of close friends is still unchanged at around five people. However, weak ties among people around the globe are rising exponentially, said Will Reader, an evolutionary psychologist at Sheffield Hallam University, at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
The online study used a questionnaire and, based on the first 200 responses, found that close friendships were formed through in-person meetings in an overwhelming 90 per cent of cases.
"Face-to-face contact is a requirement for intimate friendships," he told the conference. "There are many emotional cues that people give face to face, such as smiling and laughing, which are impossible to fake, whereas online it is easy to say, 'You are wonderful, I love you.' "
A previous study done at the University of Liverpool found that most people have an average of 150 acquaintances in their social network yet also maintain a small core group of friends, which may indicate limitations on the human brain.
Reader said there are "good evolutionary reasons" why core friendship groups are so small. Making friendships means investing time and even money in another person, in which case face-to-face contact is invaluable so that people can see whether their investment is worthwhile. On the internet, it is "very easy to be deceptive" he said.
Social networking sites are, however, giving rise to a group of people known as friend collectors, who add little-known acquaintances just for the sake of having a large number of contacts on their profile. This allows people to "collect friends like boys collect Airfix models."
|
source:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/...es.html?ref=rss
|
|
|
| Silky Johnson |
NO ING !
Another brilliant study brought to us by Dr. Moron over at the Institute for the Obvious. |
|
|
| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
NO ING !
Another brilliant study brought to us by Dr. Moron over at the Institute for the Obvious. |
This is for dummies who needs to be beaten in the head with a sledgehammer in order to get it. Even then, failure rate is high. |
|
|
| Tordan |
| lol @ friend collectors. |
|
|
| exstasie |
True.
But facebook and other similar means can help build a relationship. Obviously face-to-face contact is a necessity in any important relationship, however they can help.
I've made several friends that I would consider close through facebook. I may have met them informally through a third party and later added them through facebook. I then began talking to them on a more regular basis and became closer to those ppl and felt like I knew them next time I met them face-to-face.
Without facebook, I may not have developped these friendships. |
|
|
| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by exstasie
True.
But facebook and other similar means can help build a relationship. Obviously face-to-face contact is a necessity in any important relationship, however they can help.
I've made several friends that I would consider close through facebook. I may have met them informally through a third party and later added them through facebook. I then began talking to them on a more regular basis and became closer to those ppl and felt like I knew them next time I met them face-to-face.
Without facebook, I may not have developped these friendships. |
You're not only in the Facebook fan club, but you're also the president? |
|
|
| Ravist |
| there was this one girl at my school that had around 600 friends and i asked one day, do you even talk to all of them? she replied with yeah I do. But that was obviously bull |
|
|
| dEsidEL |
| quote: | Originally posted by exstasie
True.
But facebook and other similar means can help build a relationship. Obviously face-to-face contact is a necessity in any important relationship, however they can help.
I've made several friends that I would consider close through facebook. I may have met them informally through a third party and later added them through facebook. I then began talking to them on a more regular basis and became closer to those ppl and felt like I knew them next time I met them face-to-face.
Without facebook, I may not have developped these friendships. |
and you poke more friends online than you do in person now too right
|
|
|
| exstasie |
| quote: | Originally posted by dEsidEL
and you poke more friends online than you do in person now too right
|
I never saw the point of the Poke... |
|
|
| dEsidEL |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
NO ING !
Another brilliant study brought to us by Dr. Moron over at the Institute for the Obvious. |
it's okay .. it was a British study anyway so we never paid for it :toothless
|
|
|
| jon jon |
| quote: | Originally posted by exstasie
I never saw the point of the Poke... |
don't be so naive
:p |
|
|
| jon jon |
| Honestly Facebook rules so ing hard, I can't imagine life without it. |
|
|
|
|
