In the age of social networking, 10,000 Facebook friends generally means 10,000 possible career connections. Who cares that you know basically nothing about 99% of those people, right?
That might be all well and good stateside, but a new study suggests that being the most popular kid on the Internet isn't a badge of merit worldwide. The study found that participants in other countries sometimes looked down on those with too many friends; for example, in Ghana it was an indication of foolishness and naiveté.
The researchers also suspected that the need for more friends would depend on socioeconomic conditions — specifically, financial wealth and mobility. And indeed, when asked, participants with low mobility and low income, or high income but low mobility, were more content with a smaller network of closer friends rather than a large group of acquaintances. So, yes, basically it all comes down to how many couches you can surf.
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We definitely get the impetus to clear out our Facebook friends from time to time, and there's a certain shame that creeps up when you realize you regularly visit the profile of someone who you literally haven't spoken to in years. What's your stance? Do these results make you think twice about your networking strategy? (Live Science)
Image via Facebook.
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