You've Got To Have 150 Friends

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26dunbar.html

  This article is mainly about how Facebook has revolutionized how we interact with one another. Scientists have discovered Dunbar's number, which is the number of people we can have meaningful relationships with; around 150. People leave your life and enter your life, allowing someone who was once one of the most important people in your life to be one of the most distant of your 150 friends. Facebook helps to connect people, who otherwise we would lose contact with. The article states that in the real world, we devote 40% of our time each week to the 5 most important people we know, and that it is impossible to have more than 5 best friends when interacting face to face, one person at a time. Facebook allows us to speak to many people at once.
  Dunbar's number is very thought provoking, simply because it makes a lot of sense. There are few people that I interact with every day. Having more Facebook friends does not mean that one has more friends in the real world, because they cannot maintain more than approximately 150 relationships. This means that they could know a person, but never really interact.
  I believe that this is one of the most positive aspects of Facebook, simply because it allows us to connect with people around the world that we normally would lose contact with. Personally, I met people from many countries when I was in Africa, and Facebook has let me continue to contact with them. I also know many people (from past sports teams, vacations, etc.) that I can still talk to because of the social networking site.