91ÇàÇà²Ý

News

Robin Dunbar: We can have about 150 friends

On average, a person can have a maximum of 150 friends and acquaintances with whom he/she can maintain permanent social relationships.

This number is limited by the size of the neocortex area in the frontal lobe of our brain.

This does not only apply to people, as the size of animal groups is also surprisingly dependent on the size of the same brain area Maintaining relationships with other members of the species is a complicated matter that requires a lot of brain work.

The majority of people have 100–200 friends on Facebook. The impression that people usually have hundreds of friends is a myth that is not true. If there are more people in the networks, the relationships are not generally bi-directional in nature.

The same number comes up consistently in different materials. Studying the e-mails of researchers has also indicated that a person can usually carry out bi-directional e-mail traffic with approximately 100–200 other people. The activities of organisations generally become more difficult when the threshold of 150 people is exceeded.

Friends and acquaintances are divided into friends on different levels. The number of closest friends is usually approximately five. People usually give these friends some 40% of the time they spend with friends. The best ways of connecting people are laughter, discussion in small groups and singing.

Watch Dunbar's talk .

  • Updated:
  • Published:
Share
URL copied!

Read more news

A person walks past a colourful mural on a brick wall, illuminated by street lamps and electric lines overhead.
Cooperation, Research & Art, University Published:

New Academy Research Fellows and Academy Projects

A total of 44 Aalto researchers received Academy Research Fellowship and Academy Project funding from the Research Council of Finland – congratulations to all!
Two light wooden stools, one with a rectangular and one with a rounded structure, placed against a neutral background.
Research & Art Published:

Aalto University's Wood Studio's future visions of Finland's most valuable wood are presented at the Finnish Forest Museum Lusto

Curly birch – the tree pressed by the devil – exhibition will be on display in Lusto until March 15, 2026.
Five people with a diploma and flowers.
Awards and Recognition, Campus, Research & Art Published:

Spring term open science highlight: Aalto Open Science Award Ceremony

We gathered at A Grid to celebrate the awardees of the Aalto Open Science Award 2024 and discuss open science topics with the Aalto community.
Two interconnected circular loops; one blue labelled 'Simulation DBTL loop', one brown labelled 'Real-world DBTL loop'.
Awards and Recognition, Press releases, Research & Art Published:

A revolution for R&D with the missing link of machine learning — project envisions human-AI expert teams to solve grand challenges

Samuel Kaski receives ERC Advanced Grant to develop new machine learning that is robust, generalisable and engages human experts.