(June, 2016) Are you younger than 25 years old? You have more friends now that you will ever have. According to a recent study by scientists from Aalto University in Finland, soon after your mid-20s, your social circle shrinks. The researchers 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 make 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. And Facebook friends don’t count. This decline continues for the rest of your life, or at least until retirement, where it plateaus. The theory is that around the age of 25, people begin to decide who is most important – and valuable – in their life and make a greater effort to hold on to those friends.
* Or, put another way, you start letting go of the losers.
* Polish up that Nobel Prize. I think we have a winner.
* These numbers will vary depending on how annoying your spouse is.
* Or how hot. Either way.
* I think the reason is, after age 25 we start flying more, and none of our friends want to be asked to take us to the airport.
* Anyone else uncomfortable with the idea of these geeks going over our phone records?
* Hey, that’s the NSA’s job.
* Does this count friends with benefits?