Moms age 40 and older have more friends on Facebook than their younger counterparts. And you may know some of them, who may have hit you up with friend requests, much to your dismay.
The study's author, Tammi Williams, told Britain's Daily Telegraph that her findings are based on an analysis of 2,000 Facebook users, which was done for a greeting card company.
The older moms were "able to capitalise on their wide range of contacts, including friends of their children and even their parents, to collect thousands of friends," the Telegraph said.
"One reason is because, when you get to 45 or 50 you have not only your friends, but your children's friends, acquaintances from school and others," Williams told the newspaper. "Children and teenagers tend to stick to their own age group."
Another reason — could this be?! — is that younger moms — especially those with younger children — don't have the kind of time that older moms might, especially if their children are older and in say, high school or college.
Williams also classifies Facebook users into six different groups, with the biggest being "Feel-Gooders," those "who enjoy the community spirit of Facebook and seeing what their friends are doing," the newspaper said.
The Feel-Gooders "like to collect as many people as they can," Williams said. They get involved in games like FarmVille and like sending virtual gifts to their neighbours."
The second biggest group, she said, are 'Do-Gooders.' Those are the folks — and you know them as well, and may be among them — who use the social networking site "as a tool to raise awareness of a campaign or cause — and also the group least likely to reveal personal information," the Telegraph said.
At the opposite end, Williams told the newspaper, is the "'All About Me' group — 'peacocks' who use Facebook to flaunt their successes, latest purchases and the other 'minutiae of their life.' "
"Ms. Williams called these women the 'ones most women love to hate." She said: 'They don't care if they lose a friend or two along the way — they're definitely not interested in other people.' "
Wow, surprise: Sounds just like real life.
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