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Scientists found that people who have fewer friends in real life are happier than those who have plenty of friends.
Researchers from the University of Leeds conducted the study to gain insight into social networks and the changes that happen to these groups over time. The researchers used data from two online surveys, which involved almost 1,500 participants, conducted by a non-profit research organization.
The participants shared their ages, the composition of their social networks, how frequent they engaged in different types of social interactions, and their personal perceptions of well-being.
According to the study’s results, the social networks of younger people were larger than those of older people. This was because younger adults’ networks included people they barely know, such as coworkers, relatives, and school or childhood acquaintances. Additionally, younger adults’ tendency to engage in social media activities usually results in large but impersonal networks. In contrast, older adults had fewer social interactions because of life changes such as retiring from work or having less energy to maintain social relationships.
The older adults were therefore found to have greater well-being than younger adults. Despite this finding, people who had more close friends in real life reportedly had higher social satisfaction, regardless of age.
Based on these results, the study recommends that efforts in achieving higher social satisfaction be concentrated on strengthening people’s ties with close friends rather than increasing the number of friends.
For older people, this can be achieved by coming up with ways to help them move around and interact, as well as teaching them how to connect with close friends online. Meanwhile, the researchers advise younger people to engage in more sincere conversations when communicating online.