The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 42 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Too Much of a Good Thing? The Relationship Between Number of Friends and Interpersonal Impressions on Facebook
Open accessAbstract
A central feature of the online social networking system, Facebook, is the connection to and links among friends. The sum of the number of one’s friends is a feature displayed on users’ profiles as a vestige of the friend connections a user has accrued. In contrast to offline social networks, individuals in online network systems frequently accrue friends numbering several hundred. The uncertain meaning of friend status in these systems raises questions about whether and how sociometric popularity conveys attractiveness in non-traditional, non-linear ways. An experiment examined the relationship between the number of friends a Facebook profile featured and observers’ ratings of attractiveness and extraversion. A curvilinear effect of sociometric popularity and social attractiveness emerged, as did a quartic relationship between friend count and perceived extraversion. These results suggest that an overabundance of friend connections raises doubts about Facebook users’ popularity and desirability.
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“Facial gestures and physical traits also influence impressions [40], as do characteristics of the trustor [41], comments posted by friends, and personality traits of the trustee [42,43], which were not examined here.”
From Effects of Mock Facebook Workday Comments on Public Perception of Professional Credibility: A Field Study in Canada (2019) · cites this paper as [42]
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“Academic research to date has focused primarily on the aspects of friending (Boyd and Ellison, 2008;Tong et al., 2008;Liu, 2008;Boyd, 2007) and identity management (Boyd and Ellison, 2008;Doster, 2008;Fraser and Dutta, 2008;Boyd, 2007), and these elements were also identified in this study as gratifications.”
From Young people's use of online social networking sites – a uses and gratifications perspective (2010) · cites this paper as Tong et al., 2008
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Metadata
- Authors
- Tong, S. T., Van Der Heide, B., Langwell, L., & Walther, J. B.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-04
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 531-549
- ISSN
- 1083-6101 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2151274814
- Cited by
- 732
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 42 · 2017: 48 · 2016: 56 · 2015: 71 · 2014: 71 · 2013: 70 · 2012: 72
- FWCI
- 134.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Keywords
- Facebook, sociometric popularity, perceived attractiveness, online social networking, social impressions, curvilinear effects
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