150 people: physiological restriction on friendship
Perhaps the development of social networks can ever stop for natural reasons. Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary anthropology from Oxford, in the mid-90s, put forward the theory that the human brain is not able to keep information about more than 150 friends ("Dunbar number").
The “friend” in the terminology of Dunbar is a person with whom an emotional connection is maintained, communication takes place at least once a year and about which a person remembers his relationship with other friends.
The physiological limits of the brain do not depend on the properties of a person’s character and on how friendly and sociable he is. According to the professor, restrictions exist in the neocortex, the department responsible for conscious thoughts and speech.
An English professor has been working on this theory for 15 years now - and it is still being confirmed. Dunbar draws his conclusions based on the analysis of social connections in various social groups - from the first group settlements of Neolithic people to modern office groups. In any situation, as the scientist proves, the team loses signs of unity and falls apart into fragments as soon as its size exceeds 150 people.
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Recently, Professor Dunbar began to study social networks, suggesting that modern technology can change something in the human mind. But nothing has changed. He found that, formally, a person may have a thousand friends on a social network, but if you look at traffic, it is easy to see that for each person he is limited to the same maximum range of 150 people.
It is easiest for women to maintain friendship by discussing various issues, and for men - by means of joint activities.
via The Sunday Times
The “friend” in the terminology of Dunbar is a person with whom an emotional connection is maintained, communication takes place at least once a year and about which a person remembers his relationship with other friends.
The physiological limits of the brain do not depend on the properties of a person’s character and on how friendly and sociable he is. According to the professor, restrictions exist in the neocortex, the department responsible for conscious thoughts and speech.
An English professor has been working on this theory for 15 years now - and it is still being confirmed. Dunbar draws his conclusions based on the analysis of social connections in various social groups - from the first group settlements of Neolithic people to modern office groups. In any situation, as the scientist proves, the team loses signs of unity and falls apart into fragments as soon as its size exceeds 150 people.
')
Recently, Professor Dunbar began to study social networks, suggesting that modern technology can change something in the human mind. But nothing has changed. He found that, formally, a person may have a thousand friends on a social network, but if you look at traffic, it is easy to see that for each person he is limited to the same maximum range of 150 people.
It is easiest for women to maintain friendship by discussing various issues, and for men - by means of joint activities.
via The Sunday Times
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/81981/
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