Study: It's Scientifically Impossible To Have More Than 5 Best Friends

According to this study by American psychologist Robin Dunhar, the number of friends that a person could truly have cannot exceed five. Allow us to explain.

Friends
© NBC
Friends

At a time where many of us have virtual friends, in some cases, thousands of them... this study is bringing us back to "real life". Because, how does the saying go? You can count your real friends on one hand? At least this is what researcher Robin Dunhar from the University of Oxford claims.

Discover our latest podcast

In 2007, the psychologist got a team together to analyze the phone conversations of 27,000 European people. Because the frequency of phone calls is a good indicator of the degree of proximity between two people.

The results? It turns out that one cannot have a true friendship with more than 150 people. And this group of 150 people can be divided into small groups of 5, 15, 50, 150, 500 and 1,500. "In order of importance, there are first the five individuals that we feel closest to, then 10 others, then 35 others, then finally the last layer, the last 100".

We bet you're already counting on your fingers! At least you've still got your family, right?

Check out the video above to learn more!

5 Reasons Going Out With Your Best Friend Is The Best Idea You'll Ever Have 5 Reasons Going Out With Your Best Friend Is The Best Idea You'll Ever Have