Staying Facebook Friends Depends on Real-Life Connections

By Lorien Crow | Wed Dec 21, 2011 4:04 pm

Facebook users add and delete friends largely based on real-life relationships, a new study finds, as social networkers begin to cultivate more intimate connections.

NM Incite, a Nielsen McKinsey company, surveyed nearly 2,000 social media users about how they pick Facebook connections. Users responded that knowing someone in real-life and sharing mutual friends on Facebook were the top reasons they added connections to their social media profiles, while not knowing someone made it much easier to delete them.

Amid privacy concerns, spam attacks, and a growing number of legal cases where Facebook statuses are fair game, many social networkers have become wary of online acquaintances who they don't know well. Some users are choosing to narrow their inner circles to a more intimate collection of true friends.

Facebook began with Mark Zuckerberg's dream of connecting the world, but that dream may have become a little too real. Nearly a billion people across the world use Facebook, making the site a prime target for hackers and criminals hoping to filch personal information.

Facebook is also the top Internet advertising seller in the U.S, and questions about how much user data is shared with advertisers continue to plague the social networking site.

The social networking site also made headlines recently when a Connecticut court allowed a user's Facebook statuses and comments to be used against her by opposing counsel in a divorce case, sending a message to other users that their profiles were not as private as previously thought.

Due to the mounting risks, many users who signed up with Facebook to share their photos and life moments with others are now fearful of doing so among an ever-widening circle of friends, leading them to delete anyone who isn't part of their close inner circle.

Some are even fleeing Facebook for new social networking site Google+, which allows users to create separate friend networks to keep work connections private from personal and other connections.

The NM study also found that making offensive comments, trying to sell people stuff, being overtly political, and making depressing comments can also get users booted from Facebook friends' lists.

Facebook probably won't suffer too greatly from a few deleted friends here and there, and the trend toward smaller friendship circles is likely part of the site's evolution as it continues to be a cultural mainstay. But the site may want to take note of their users' growing list of concerns in the future, or risk being "unfriended" themselves.

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	Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:54 pm | By The holidays can be slow for travelers bogged down with flight delays, or workers limping to the new year, but smartphones are offering seasonal diversions to entertain and add holiday cheer.

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	Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:42 pm | By Chinese hackers infiltrated the U.S. Department of Commerce, heightening tensions between Beijing and Washington, and underscoring the emergence of cyber-warfare in international relations.

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	Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:42 pm | By Facebook is supporting a broad initiative to address conflict resolution on the site, emphasizing compassion as a value in the community it aims to foster.

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	Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:13 pm | By Apple and Google are working on wearable computers that communicate with smartphones, bringing futuristic gadgets closer to reality.

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	Wed Dec 21, 2011 2:54 pm | By LightSquared wants a ruling confirming its rights to license spectrum, filing a petition in hopes of forcing the government to come to a decision on its plans.

Source: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/121702.html

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