You Lose Half Your Friends Every 7 Years

A recent study has found that, although one's friend list grows throughout life, one's inner circle of close friends rotates regularly. Sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst, of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, recently studied 1,007 people ages 18 to 65, and then contacted the participants seven years later, garnering 604 re-interviews. What he found was that half of the participants' closest friends has been replaced in that time.

To be sure he wasn't getting information about casual friends, Dr. Mollenhorst made sure to gear the questions toward the more intimate:

"Who do you talk with, regarding personal issues?"

"Who helps you with projects in your home?"

"Who do you pop by to see?"

He also formulated some questions in order to find out the nature of the beginning, and continuation, of the friendship:

"Where did you get to know that person?"

"And where do you meet that person now?"

What he found was that, while the size of actual social network of the participants remained constant, its contents (meaning friends) had changed substantially. About 30 percent of the people the participants regularly spoke with and counted on for practical matters remained in that social capacity seven years later. Further, only 48 percent of the overall inner circle were still part of the network.

Dr. Mollenhorst's findings were that, rather than determined by personal choices, practicalities help formulate our social networks. Reductions in opportunities to meet formally tended to inhibit friendships the most, and instead participants would turn to where they had previously met friends to find more.

These findings are notable, in part because they fly in the face of another recent study which showed that social networks were shrinking dramatically. Scientists at Duke University, and the University of Arizona, Tuscon, published a study in 2006 claiming that social networks were not only shrinking a great deal, but that the number of people claiming to have no one with whom to discuss important issues was skyrocketing.

"The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be," says Lynn Smith-Lovin, professor of sociology at Duke. "This change indicates something that's not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. These ties also lead to civil engagement and local political action." This older study also claimed increasing racial stratification, and that many social networks were becoming more and more focused on the nuclear family.

"Half of All Friends Replaced Every 7 Years"

http://www.livescience.com/culture/090601-social-network.html

www.livescience.com

"Social Networks Shrinking Dramatically"

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2738_135/ai_n17113333/

www.usatoday.com