June 3, 2009
return and return
Research suggests we replace about half our friends every seven years.
He conducted a survey of 1,007 people ages 18 to 65, and then contacted the participants seven years later. From the original group, 604 people were re-interviewed. The survey contained questions such as: Who do you talk with, regarding personal issues? Who helps you with DIY in your home? Who do you pop by to see? Where did you get to know that person? And where do you meet that person now?
The results showed that personal network sizes remained stable, but that many members of the network were new. About 30 percent of discussion partners and practical helpers had the same position in a typical subject’s network seven years later. And only 48 percent were still part of the network. This finding goes against previous research which had showed that social network sizes are shrinking.
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That sounds about right. I’ve kept a few static friends for quite some time, all with their satellite acquaintances attached. Though I’ve made new friends who’ve stayed with me, the others usually drop off by the seven year mark, if not earlier.