What do you do for work?

“I research the social organization of gelada baboons.”

Conversation starter reached elite levels.

From his research on baboons, Robin Dunbar proposed that the brain size of primates correlates with the number of meaningful, mutually invested relationships they can maintain.

He extends that thinking to humans, proposing that around 150 is the upper limit for stable, close relationships.

For Gen Z, there has been an increase in the number of acquaintances (due to online interactions and scalability) but a reduction in the number of close friends.

People who truly know you.
People who truly care.

And since our capacity for relationships hasn’t changed, an ever-growing void appears.