Research 'reveals' exact age when one starts losing friends

Call records reveal that individuals of both genders made most calls at 25

PHOTO: AFP

Is your social circle thinning out? It may be because you’re getting old.

One's social circle peaks at the age of 25 and begins to contract  there on, suggests a new study. The research by Aalto University School of Science in Finland and Oxford University’s Department of Experimental Psychology examined the number of phone calls made by individuals over certain time periods.

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Call records ranging from six months to a year were collected from one European mobile operator in 2007 and cut down to 3.2 million users for whom both age and gender data was available.


The records revealed that individuals of both genders made the most calls at 25.  Men had more social contacts at that age than women, the research found.

However, women had most social contacts at 39. At that age the number of calls made by both genders was far lesser than at 25. The number of social contacts of both men and women fell even further between 45-55 but women remained more in touch.

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The study suggested the difference between the sexes seemed to be mainly due to ‘more frequent interactions by females with their adult children and the children's spouses.’

This article originally appeared on QUARTZ.

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