Study: Facebook users get more than they give

Most Facebook users receive more from their friends than they give, according to a Pew Research Center study released Friday.

Over a one-month period, 40 percent of users made a friend request, but 63 percent received a friend request. The average user presses the "like" button 14 times on other users posts, but their friends "like" their posts 20 times.

The average user sends 9 messages but receives 12, according to the study. Twelve percent of users tag someone in a photo, but 35 percent were tagged in photo.

The study found the average Facebook user has 245 friends, but the average friend of users has 359 Facebook friends.

The discrepancy is a result of a small segment of Facebook "power users," according to researchers.

"Most Facebook users are moderately active over a one month time period, so highly active power users skew the average," said Keith Hampton, a professor at Rutgers University and the lead author of the report. 

He said power users account for about 20 percent to 30 percent of Facebook users.

"But the striking thing is that there are different power users depending on the activity in question," he explained. "One group of power users dominates friending activity. Another dominates ‘liking’ activity. And yet another dominates photo tagging.”   

The study also found women update their statuses more than men. The average woman updates her status 21 times per month, whereas the average man updates his status six times per month.

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