![]() Users of MySpace (694) and Facebook (648) have a statistically similar number of social ties. While the average person who uses a SNS has about the same number of social ties as the average American, there is considerable variation by SNS platform. Self-selection for social networking site platforms means that LinkedIn and Twitter users have larger overall networks. In addition, mobile phone users average 664 ties, and those who have internet access through a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet computer tend to have about 717 ties. The average person who uses the Internet at home several times per day, has a network of 732 ties, while someone who uses the Internet only once a day has a network of 616 ties. Similarly, the more frequently someone uses the internet, the larger his network tends to be. average cell phone user has 664 social ties.average internet user has 669 social ties, compared with non-users, who have an average of 506 ties.average American has an overall network of 634 social ties. ![]() Census.] Scaling up using this method, we found that the (see Appendix B, Table B1, for a detailed table): We used data on the popularity of first names provided by the U.S. To maximize the accuracy of our estimate we did four things: 1) we asked about subpopulations that have high recall – people’s first names, 2) we chose names that represent between 0.1%-0.2% of the population – subpopulation sizes that has been found to minimize recall errors, 3) we used a relatively large number of subpopulations – 12 unique names, 4) and we selected a balance of male and female names that were popular at different time periods – they roughly balance each other out in terms of likelihood of exposure over time and minimize any bias as a result of age and gender. ![]() The third is knowledge of a large number of subpopulations, and the fourth is exposure or social mixing (e.g., older women may have been exposed to more people named “Rose,” than, say, younger men). The second is recall accuracy (e.g, people tend to overestimate the number of people they know from small subpopulations and underestimate from larger ones). The first is network knowledge (e.g., you may know someone, but not know they are a mailman). This assumption is generally true, but can be further adjusted to increase accuracy, which depends on four other factors. 4 This approach assumes that the composition of people’s social networks mirrors the presence of a specific subpopulation in society (e.g., if one out of 100 people in the population have a characteristic, 1/100 people in a person’s network should share this same characteristic). If we know the size of a subpopulation from publicly available statistics, such as how many mailmen there are or how many people there are named “Rose,” and we know how many people a person knows from this subpopulation, we can make an accurate estimate of a person’s total network size. The method is based on the knowledge that the people a person comes to know in a lifetime are made up of various subpopulations (e.g., categories of people, such as family, doctors, mailmen, people named “Rose,” etc). This approach has been embraced by social network analysts and its history and rationale are described in Appendix D. The approach that we use is called the “scale-up method”. However, social scientists have developed methods for estimating the size of people’s networks. This makes it very difficult to measure people’s total network size. It is nearly impossible for most people to reliably list all of the people they know. This includes a handful of very close social ties and a much large number of weaker ties. ![]() Most Americans overall networks contain a range of social ties that consist of friends, family, coworkers, and other acquaintances. Looking at people’s overall social networks, not just their online ties, the average American has 634 ties in their overall network, and technology users have bigger networks. Here below are our findings on all of this. Others believe this might enrich and expand relationships. Some worry that as a result of using these services, people may become more isolated and substitute less meaningful relations for real social support. Those who are listed as friends on SNS may indeed be friends in the traditional sense, but they can also be old acquaintances (e.g., from high school) or very casual connections between people who have never have met in person. Much has been made of the use of the word “friend” in this context. Social networking sites (SNS) provide people with the opportunity to friend members of their overall network of family members, coworkers, and other acquaintances. The average American has 634 ties in their overall network, and technology users have bigger networks.
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