How Many Relationships Can You Handle?

Here is a fun piece of information:

According to an article by the folks over at The Build Network (the creators of Inc.), there is an actual limit to the number of social relationships a person can manage and cultivate. Citing research conducted by evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, the Build Network article notes that humans can realistically maintain relationships with roughly 150 people.  After that, things start to get a little unwieldy.

Dunbar formed this hypothesis by studying social connections within primate societies, and comparing these connections to the size of the primate’s Neocortex (that’s the part of the brain that is responsible for sensory perception, motor commands, spatial reasoning, and thought).  After some fancy calculations based on the size of the human Neocortex, he hypothesized that the total number of relationships a person can handle is about 150.

But here is the fun part: it turns out that we kind of already do this naturally. Dunbar also studied the way successful organizations and military groups go about their business. And he discovered that the majority of these groups organize themselves into cliques of about 150.

We’ll get to electronic cigarettes and their involvement in maintaining social relationships in a minute, but first some more fun information:

The Build article also cites an excerpt from the book “The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future,” by Co-founder and Chairman of LinkedIn Ben Hoffman and Entrepreneur and Author Ben Casnocha. In the excerpt, which appeared in the February 6th edition of Fortune, Hoffman and Casnocha argue that while there may be a limit on the amount of relationships a person can handle, it does not necessarily start and end with the number 150.

It really depends on the intimacy and quality of the relationship as well as the tools you use to cultivate it. Hence the reason social media networking sites, like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, have revolutionized the way we stay in touch. Unlike the primates in Dunbar’s study, technological advancements allow us to maintain a much broader social network.

This is what makes the Smart Pack from blu Cigs such a timely innovation. With one push of a button, the Smart E-Cigarette Pack becomes socially aware. It continually monitors the area around you, looking for another blu user, a blu bar, or a retail location where you can shop for starter kits or a myriad of electronic cigarette accessories. The pack then lights up and vibrates to alert you when these people or things get within 50 feet.

This simple social feature on a pack of electronic cigarettes is just another great example of how technology is helping influence, expand and maintain your social relationships. You don’t have to be limited to a number. We are not primates. Instead, with continued advancements from social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and even the social feature on your pack of electronic cigarettes, who really knows what the limit is?

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