thedailywhat:

Three’s A Crowd of the Day: Research conducted at Cornell University has found that, despite the average Facebook user boasting 130 friends, many today have only two people they would consider “close friends.”

Though that number is down from an average of three 25 years ago, this doesn’t necessarily mean we are becoming more socially isolated.

“Rather than our networks getting smaller overall, what I think may be happening is we’re simply classifying a smaller proportion of our networks as suitable for important discussions,” Prof. Matthew Brashears said. “This is reassuring in that it suggests that we’re not becoming less social.”

The assistant professor of sociology, who surveyed over 2,000 adults, found that the number of people with zero confidantes has not increased over the years, as a 2006 study speculated.

However, Brashears readily admits that the figures used in previous studies might be flawed, and calls for better data to be compiled.

Still, a shrinking number of confidantes can be detrimental: “Discussion partners provide both emotional support and ideas for how to solve problems,” Brashears noted, “so a shrinking discussion network may lead to more stress and poorer outcomes.”

[livescience / h/t: hairpin.]