Have YOU reached peak popularity? People have the most friends at 25 and slowly lose more than they gain as they get older
- The average number of people we call or receive calls from peaks at 25
- It goes downhill from there and stats to level out at the age of 45
- Under the age of 39, men have a wider circle of friends than women
- People aged 50 call 25-year-olds twice as often as 25-year-olds call them
If you are older than 25, the chances are you are probably less popular than you used to be.
According to new research, our social networks peak at that age, after which the friends and acquaintances we lose begin to outweigh the new ones we make.
The way we develop and stick to friendships also depends on our gender, the researchers found, with men likely to make more contacts in their youth but lose them more quickly as they age.
According to new research, our social networks peak at 25, after which the friends and acquaintances we lose begin to outweigh the new ones we make. The study, carried out by scientists at Oxford and Aalto universities, looked at the phone records of 3.2 million mobile users across in Europe
'Age and gender are two important factors that play crucial roles in the way organisms allocate their social effort,' the researchers said.
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'Our results indicate these aspects of human behaviour are strongly related to age and gender such that younger individuals have more contacts and, among them, males more than females.'
The study, carried out by scientists at Oxford and Aalto, Finland, looked at the phone records of 3.2 million mobile users across in Europe.
The researchers hoped to be able to identify different stages of life-like childhood, adolescence, adulthood with children and then when the children leave home.
The big life events that come with age,like marriage and parenthood, cause people to invest more time socialising with just a few close family members and friends.
The data included the age and gender of the users and the people they called, how often they called each person and the length of each call.
The average number of people we call or receive calls from peaks out at age 25, goes downhill from there and stats to level out at the age of 45, according to the study. Average number of people we talk to on the phone as we age is shown in the graph
The big life events that come with age, like marriage and parenthood, cause people to spend more of their time socialising with just a few close family members and friends, according to the researchers
The research showed those aged 25 and under talked on their phones more than any other age group.
The average number of people we call or receive calls from peaks out at age 25, goes downhill from there and levels out at age 45.
Under the age of 39, men seem to have a rather wider circle of friends than women.
Most women do not get a larger circle of acquaintances than men until they are in their forties.
According to the data, women are also much better at staying in contact with their own ageing parents than men are.
The data suggests parents call children much more than children call their parents and people aged about 50 call 25-year-olds twice as often as 25-year-olds call 50-year-olds.
The study also found the average number of people we have frequent contact with is generally limited to about 15 people.
Under the age of 39, men (blue squares) seem to have a rather wider circle of friends than women (red circles). Most women don't get a larger circle of friends than men until they are in their forties, shown in the graph
The study backs up findings from previous research into face-to-face social networks that suggested our social networks shrink as we age.
'But there could be other explanations for the fact that older people tend to call fewer friends on their mobiles,' said Dr Sarah Gomillion, postdoctoral research fellow in social psychology, University of Aberdeen, who was not involved in the study.
'For one thing, older adults use mobile technology far less than younger people, and the new study didn’t capture data on landline phone calls and meeting in person.'
Older adults use mobile technology far less than younger people, and the new study didn’t capture data on landline phone calls and meeting in person
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