This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

People Start Losing Friends At Age 25: Study

Has this happened to you?

We all lose touch with certain work or school friends as we get older, but a new study has been able to pinpoint exactly when this disconnecting begins.

A recent study published by the Aalto University School of Science in Finland and Oxford University found that for both men and women, the age of 25 is when most of us start losing friends. Researchers call this a "peak" point, and as we get older, our group of contacts begin to drop.

"Our results indicate that 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 research states. "However, the rate of decrease in the number of contacts with age differs between males and females, such that there is a reversal in the number of contacts around the late 30s."

The study notes that by the age of 39, the average man kept in touch with 12 people per month over the phone, while women reached out to 15. For the average 25-year-old person, men stayed in contact with 19 people, while women connected with 17.5.

And while the video from Buzz60 above suggests losing friends can seem like the end of the world, we believe keeping a smaller group of friends can actually be better. Yes, people who have huge followings on social media sites may be "friends" with hundreds of people, but ideally, keeping a small group means more time for things like travelling, eating out and guaranteed face-to-face time.

Some studies suggest keeping a large number of friends means using more time and resources, while other research notes keeping a best friend, for example, is actually better for your well being, Health.com notes.

A best friend (or, we would add, a small group of friends) can help block out anxiety, keep you positive and be your support system when you need it the most.

But going back to the Aalto University School of Science and Oxford study: apparently things start to change when you're 80. By this age, people tend to settle down with a group of six to eight friends (squad goals).

At what age did you start disconnecting with friends? Let us know in the comments below.

Also on HuffPost

Infinity Arrow

Best Friend Tattoo Ideas

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.