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Your Online Friends Aren't Real Friends, Says Study

by Joshua Fruhlinger on September 12, 2007 at 01:20 PM

Facebook Friends
So you know all those friends you have on Facebook and MySpace, and how whenever you get a request to add a friend, you feel all good about yourself, thinking your social life isn't all that pathetic? Turns out you probably shouldn't.

According to a study at Sheffield Hallam University, having lots of online friends doesn't mean you have tons of real-world friends. On average, the study says, people who do online social networking have exactly the same number of real-world close friends -- five, to be exact.

The study explains that in order to form real, trustworthy bonds, people have to meet in person and forge ongoing personal relationships with dimension. A couple messages here or there and a shared photo album from your party do not great friends make.

Don't go getting all mad, now, social networkers. These results come from surveys from people just like you. In fact, ten percent of the respondents felt they have forged close friendships online. As to whether or not the people at Sheffield Hallam would agree that those people close friends, you'll have to take that up with them.

From Information Week

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Tags: breaking+news, facebook, social networking, SocialNetworking, top

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