Dunbar’s Source

The theory was enhanced through the work of Robin Dunbar with the Dunbar number, which defines the “cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships.” The number in humans is estimated to be around 150 (Dunbar, 1993). Dunbar’s research also deals with the significance of the size of the offline social networks, the impact of social networks to the real world superstructure, the impact of first-order contacts to the covalence of the overall social network and the complexity of the structure of the social network. All of these factors create the framework for the overarching analysis of the social network. More importantly, his research focuses on how networks exist within the confines of time and space. These asynchronous themes of time and space are vital when discussing the modality of online social networking and how users of the network create bonds to other users.