Story highlights
Men and women are socially promiscuous in their early 20s, according to a recent study
After the age of 25, the number of friends people have falls rapidly
Women lose friends at faster rates than men
Are you younger than 25 years old? You may want to appreciate this moment in life when your social circle is at its greatest. If you’re older, you may relate to what you read next.
Soon after your mid-20s, your social circle shrinks, according to a recent study by scientists from Aalto University in Finland and the University of Oxford in England.
The teams analyzed data from 3 million mobile phone users to identify the frequency and patterns of whom they contacted and when, as well as overall activity within their networks.
Men and women were found to be socially promiscuous – making more and more friends and social contacts – until the age of 25, after which point they started losing them rapidly, with women losing them at an initially faster rate than men. The average 25-year-old woman contacts about 17.5 people per month, while a man contacts 19 people.
No, Facebook friends don’t count.
This decline continues for the rest of your life, or at least until retirement, where it plateaus, probably due to reduced data among this age group.
Why