According to Dunbar’s number theory there’s a 150-person limit to the number of individuals with whom we can maintain meaningful social relationships, known as Dunbar’s number. Have factors like population booms and techonological advancement changed his decades old supposition?
Dunbar’s claim was made in 1993 and alot of things have happened since then, namely the internet which has brought the whole world closer, made it alot easier to make friends on our doorstep and globally and thanks to social media, keep in touch with them.
Decades since the anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist first published his claim, Dunbar still sticks by his number, and other research has supported it. “There has been no change in the number of relationships,” Dunbar told Live Science in an email.
Dr Sarah Johns, believes that, while Dunbar’s number is broadly accurate, it comes with several caveats.
“I wouldn’t say it is absolutely 150 in every circumstance,” Johns tells Live Science “‘Close and meaningful’ is likely to result in a much smaller number, but this can also depend on individual factors, such as extraversion and introversion. However, Dunbar’s number is supported quite broadly,” Johns also added. “Obviously, novel technology might open up the number of people we interact with daily,”