Why social media followers are not what you think

Social media followers don't equate to real-life relationships because of Dunbar's number, a theory that suggests humans have a cognitive limit to the number of stable social relationships they can maintain. Proposed by anthropologist Robin Dunbar, this number is typically cited as around 150.

Dunbar's number is based on the idea that the size of a primate's neocortex—the part of the brain responsible for social cognition—correlates with the size of its social groups. By extrapolating from primate data, Dunbar proposed that humans are biologically and cognitively limited to a social network of about 150 people. A "stable relationship" in this context is defined as one where you know who the person is, how they relate to others in the group, and would not feel awkward if you ran into them at a bar.

The number 150 isn't a hard limit, but rather a mean for a series of concentric circles of relationships:

• The Inner Circle (3-5 people): Your closest friends and family, with whom you have the deepest bonds.

• The Sympathy Group (15 people): Your core group of friends.

• The Active Network (50 people): Good friends and more distant family.

• The Casual Network (150 people): Acquaintances and casual friends.

These relationships require time and effort to maintain, which is a major constraint on their number.

While social media platforms can give you thousands of "friends" or "followers," these connections are often superficial and don't fit the definition of a stable relationship according to Dunbar's theory. The key distinction is that social media allows for passive relationships, where you can see someone's activity without actively engaging with them. This differs from the active "social grooming" (like gossiping and conversation) that is required to maintain genuine, stable bonds.

Although social media can be a tool for keeping tabs on people who might otherwise fade from your life, it doesn't magically expand your brain's capacity for deep, meaningful connections. Dunbar himself has noted that while social media can help people keep track of a wider circle of acquaintances, the number of people with whom we have truly meaningful relationships remains constrained by our biology. The sheer number of followers often represents a curated, one-sided audience rather than a network of reciprocal, stable relationships.

In essence, building a tribe with a Maltix QR Site moves away from the "spray and pray" approach of traditional social media. Instead, it focuses on creating a dedicated, high-value space for a smaller, more engaged community, which is more aligned with the principles of Dunbar's number and the idea of meaningful relationships.