What your mother told you was true – being popular isn’t everything. In fact, being too popular may actually be bad for you. And there’s now science to back that up!

A new study investigated how many friends we need. And they found that while everyone needs some friends, having too many doesn’t work because we don’t have the emotional capacity or energy for it!

The findings show that in terms of “best” friends – five is the magic number – these are the friends that will *truly* do anything for you.

You want a dozen supportive friends – those who you’d have over for a small dinner party.

“Good” friends is 50 – those who may not make the dinner party, but would be welcome at a big birthday party!

Finally, there’s regular friends – those who you see at occasions like weddings or reunions but don’t have to hear from all the time – that number is 150.

And these are real, in-person friends – social media doesn’t count here!

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