A noted anthropologist has discovered what many of us have known for years: our Facebook friends don't really care about us.
In a study of nearly 3,400 Facebook users, Robin Dunbar, who's best known for establishing Dunbar's number, or the idea that people can only maintain approximately 150 stable relationships, has found that in the event of an "emotional crisis," only 4.1 of Facebook friends can be counted on. What's worse, just 13.6 Facebook friends will ever share any form of sympathy with friends going through issues.
The results are, at the very least, a bit disconcerting. According to the study, users have on average about 155.2 friends, though women typically have about 20 more Facebook friends than men. In addition, those who are younger typically have larger networks than older users.
Whatever the case, it's clear that Facebook friends generally don't care that much. Indeed, the researchers said that social networks are in many ways "egocentric," and the connections people have with each other are loose at best.
Ultimately, the researchers found that social networks do not improve friendships. While they acknowledged that social networks can keep friendships alive for a somewhat longer span, Facebook and Twitter are not enough to "overcome" friendship issues; real friends require a deeper connection.
"In practical terms, it may reflect the fact that real (as opposed to casual) relationships require at least occasional face-to-face interaction to maintain them," the study said.