Buddy satiated?

A recent study in the US has shown that people with 500 online friends on Facebook keep in touch with only 10-16 of them while people with 120 friends on the site keep in regular contact with four-six of them. Our question to the celebs was what does making so many diverse friends on social networking sites do for you?

Milind Soman, Actor
I’m not on any social networking site. I don’t think it’s possible to have the mental or emotional state to deal with more than four-five close friends in one’s life.

Rakshanda Khan, Actor
I have 600 friends on my social networking site. Realistically it’s impossible to be in close touch with so many of them. But that’s precisely the function of a social networking site. I’ve connected to my school teachers from way back, one of whom is in Australia and with whom I would never have been able to keep in touch otherwise. So it’s wonderful.

Arti Surendranath, line producer
I have over 700 friends online. It’s a method of genuine connection with people from another era, whom one wouldn’t have been in touch with otherwise. Also it’s a super way of promoting a cause far and wide among one’s circle of friends. However, what I don’t like is that some networking sites can get away with using the confidential information you put on them, for their own purposes.

Shenaz Treasurywala, Actor
Facebook is a great way of being in touch with almost everyone I’ve ever met. While sometimes, after the initial ‘hi’, ‘hello’, ‘how’s life treating you’, you realise you don’t have much to say to each other, it’s still nice to have the option of dropping a line to them anytime I feel like and to be able to share thoughts on films and books.

Tanuja Chandra, Director
While I’m quite into the internet and into e-mail, I’m not on any social networking site. They are addictive and can become an obsession. Since it’s a virtual friendship and you’re sitting alone with your computer I believe they isolate more than they connect.