Comment poster Kldev put it much better than me. From:
http://techland.time.com/2010/12/28/study-more-friends-on-facebook-equals-a-bigger-amygdala-in-your-brain/#ixzz1B3x7ivI7).
“Oh my god! The number of media outlets I’ve seen misinterpret this study is just utterly insane! Read the article. Facebook is not mentioned once, and Facebook networks were not the target of the study. The article says nothing about the 58 study subjects’ Facebook friends, rather it said there was a moderate correlation between their amygdala size and “the complexity of their social relationships.” From the study:”
“The Social Network Index assesses participation in 12 types of social relationships. These include relationships with a spouse, parents, parents-in-law, children, other close family members, close neighbors, friends, workmates, schoolmates, fellow volunteers (eg, charity or community work), members of groups without religious affiliations (eg, social, recreational, or professional), and members of religious groups. One point is assigned for each type of relationship (possible score of 12) for which respondents indicate that they speak (in person or on the phone) to someone in that relationship at least once every 2 weeks. The total number of persons with whom they speak at least once every 2 weeks (number of network members) was also assessed.”
“Reference 9 from the Nature Neuroscience paper: Cohen, S., Doyle, W.J., Skoner, D.P., Rabin, B.S. & Gwaltney, J.M. Jr. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 277, 1940–1944 (1997)”.
“This degree of misreporting is disgusting.”