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Facebook friends as a gauge for introverted or extroverted? I have a hypothesis, and it’s only a wildass one which I’m attempting to test here right now. My personal observation is that if you have less than 200 FB friends, you’re likely to be an introvert. If you have more than 200, you’re an extrovert. Please take the poll so I can convince myself one way or the other.

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jujuofthesea 7 July 28
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20 comments

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0

I wish I knew if I was an introvert or extrovert.

Sorry, I can't stop myself from telling you that the word you need is fewer, not less. The rule is something like, if it's stuff you can count, like people or books or pieces fruit, it's fewer. If it's uncountable, like water or air or dust, it's less.

Carin Level 8 July 30, 2018
2

Honestly, I interact with people more on Facebook because it's on my own terms. I join the conversations that interest me, and leave them when they start to drain my energy. I don't have to worry about blushing or becoming tongue-tied. It's the perfect place for an introvert (who isn't shy) to socialize. My friend circle has grown there as I've interacted with friends of friends and found common interests or ideals. I keep the connections with my old school friends, mostly for nostalgia, but those have blossomed into deeper friendships over the years.

2

I have just over 200 friends and am an introvert. I'm surprised by these results because I see so many people who are 'friend hoarders.' I know and like all of my Facebook friends and regularly weed them out - although the majority of them I may not have seen in decades. I have moved around a lot, gone to different schools, had different jobs, participated in different activities where you meet a lot of people, and yeah I'm interested in keeping up with their lives from a distance. I would say that in general none of my Facebook friends are people I 'hang out with.'

Oh, and I've met interesting people on dating sites that I never really got involved with or who were too far away, and we became facebook friends and I've enjoyed keeping up with their lives that way, too. I made some very nice connections that way.

Hihi Level 6 July 29, 2018
2

I'm solidly in the introvert category, but I do have over 200 Facebook friends. That's pared down from a few years back when I played Zynga games that rewarded you for the number in your crew. I quit all those, but many of those friends became real friends, though we've yet to meet in person. I also have online-only friends I gathered through my digital scrapbooking hobby. Most have transitioned to real friend status, though a few I still follow for inspiration.

2

I have a bit over 100 FB "friends", 90% of them being people I know personally and have shared meals/experiences/life with and 90% of which have "friended" me. I don't accept stranger friend requests unless they are mighty interesting and give me a damn good reason. Yep, I'm a bit of an introvert. Never feel lonely... always OK with my dogs and endless things to do that amuse me. Another good solid introvert in my life would be nice, though. I could handle that. 😉

1

I'm not comfortable with those labels. I believe an individual can move between those concepts from time to time. I often used too think of myself as an introvert, but when my job compelled me to get up in front of dozens, or even hundreds, of people at times, it wasn't difficult for me. Even when dealing with executives, I found that all I needed was to be prepared and confident and there was no problem. At parties and other informal gatherings, I mingle easily if it's a friendly crowd. On the other hand, I don't seek out crowds and avoid being outspoken unless/until I have good reason.FYI, I'm not a big FB user, and have maybe 25 friends tops.

Introvert doesn't mean unsociable, unfriendly or unable to speak. It just means you pick and choose more selectively who you want to interact with.

@jujuofthesea oh, well I've not heard it put that way. I suppose I am rather choosy, I will definitely not interact with people I think might do me great bodily harm.

I agree with this. I find it pretty easy to be superficially social but my circle of folks I interact with on a closer level is pretty small.

1

I have less than 60 FB friends. About 10 of those are family members and another 2 of those 60 are deceased and one is a co-worker.

Are you intro or extro?

@jujuofthesea I'm pretty introverted. I voted but forgot to mention that.

1

I'm fairly introverted. It normally takes me awhile to warm up to people. I have around 160 people on FB. I also go through my list every few months. If I don't hang out or talk to that person, they get deleted.
My privacy settings are high... But on MY FB wall I'm unfiltered. And if we aren't close anymore, you don't get access to my thoughts 🙂

1

You wouldn't know it by my online presence but, I'm an introvert.

Duke Level 8 July 28, 2018
0

I have high standards

0

I am an extrovert an only have about 60 friends. I'm choosy an don't wish to see all the crap from religious and people I really don't know that want to friend me. Friends of friends of friends - Why?

1

I'm sure there's a correlation but it may or may not mean too much. I'm reminded of the study that showed people with larger shoe size did better at aptitude tests, it was then revealed that older kids naturally scored higher as well as having larger feet than the younger kids. In other words, more outgoing people are likely to have a larger circle of friends and acquaintances, on Facebook, Earth or any other medium.

Salo Level 7 July 28, 2018
3

As a cheerful, born optimist and extrovert, I have 151 Facebook friends. This is because I only accept friend requests from people I know personally. I set strong privacy settings.

Your theory is incorrect.

@Humanistheathen
What is "Dunbar's number"?

@Humanistheathen
Thank you for the link.

0

It's interesting, maybe another variable is the number of friends you actually know vs. just FB friends you never met facet to face. Out of my 126 friends, there are 20 I have never met, that makes it 15%. So here's another theory, introverted people with huge friends count have a high percentage of never-met friends ... over 15%. Let me know how it computes for you.

2

I'm an extrovert, and I have less than 200. My friends on facebook are almost all people I know IRL.

@tnorman1236

Same here.

1

I am an introvert, and current count is 449 friends. That is down from over 600. I used to be a SAHM, and I used to play several games on FB. The games are far more fun if you have friends that are players, you get more stuff. Trump's election brought a purge, and I've been purging non active folks and those I never have any contact with.

What's the rough percentage of never-met friends?

@jujuofthesea Do you hate me? Making me do math.... Geebus. 25-30% are people I have known in real life.

@HippieChick58 isn't it horrible that he's trying to make us do math on a Saturday! I'm trying to relax not think about math! ???

2

I've no idea how many Facebook friends I have, but it's less than 200 and I'm not introverted at all.

1

I'm neither introverted, nor extroverted.
I have 67 facebook friends, almost all of whom I actually know in person.
I think your theory is completely false.

3

I'm more extroverted and I have over 200 friends. It will be interesting to see if your theory holds up.

StephC Level 7 July 28, 2018

What's your percentage of never-met friends?

@jujuofthesea Very low. Out of 298 friends there are only 3 that I have never met in person. Only 1 of those is someone I've never had any communication with.

@StephC Wow, you're very outgoing.

@jujuofthesea Maybe a little. I don't normally accept friend requests from people I don't know. In the case of the 1 I've never spoke to I accepted his request because we were in one of the same Indivisible groups and he had interesting things to say.

3

I'm definitely introverted and started out with about 130. I made a concerted effort to be more "friendly" and got to 160. I deleted a bunch of Trumpanzees and now at 126.

Trumpanzees, i love it. Will have to use that, you got it copyrighted?

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