Do You Have Too Many Online Friends?

Do You Have Too Many Online Friends?

If you’ve ever joined an online social network, you know the whole point
is to connect with friends. Some people even make a game of adding as
many friends as possible! Before you go gathering hundreds – or even thousands – of online “friends,” consider this intel we found in Wired magazine.

• Having lots of online friends creates more work for you.
  Theoretically, you could use MySpace or Facebook to keep track of every
  friend you’ve ever made since you were born and social networks offer
  plenty of tools to help you keep in touch online. For example, you can
  send birthday greetings, instant messages, event bulletins, comments or
  just an old fashioned email. Problem is, with so much friend
  maintenance to deal with, you may find yourself spending more time
  online, and less time actually seeing your friends face-to-face.

• Another problem with excessive online “friending”: It devalues your real friends.
  Like it or not, friends are the “currency” of the socially networked
  world. Just like in real economics, the law of Friendonomics holds that
  the more friends you have, the less valuable each one gets. Your
  buddies will begin to feel like collectible commodities – like stamps
  or trading cards and that makes each friend in your network a little
  less important.

• Having too many online friends takes away your right to lose touch!
  Think back to your childhood, and try to remember all the people you
  once declared to be your “best friend forever.” Chances are there were
  quite a few you lost touch with as soon as college, careers, spouses
  and kids came into the picture. The reality is that some bonds are meant
  to be broken because that’s nature’s way of letting you grow and change
  as a person – and to prepare you for all the great possibilities life
  has to offer.

It’s great to have a lot of friends. In fact, studies show that having strong social bonds can
lower your stress, and help you live longer. However, being friend-rich
online will never be as valuable as being friend-rich in real life!!