Scottish Researchers from Edinburgh Napier University recently claimed that the more Facebook ‘friends’ you  have, the more stressed out you will be.

The University asked 200 students about their stress levels and related it to their friend’s numbers and found the following:

• 12 per cent of respondents said that Facebook made them feel anxious

• 63 per cent delayed replying to friend requests

• 32 per cent said rejecting friend requests led to feelings of guilt and discomfort

• 10 per cent admitted disliking receiving friend requests

• Most were anxious about withdrawing from the site for fear of missing important social information or offending contacts.

But, is this stress really long lived enough to affect these students day to day life? This study relies heavily on a specific Facebook related questionnaire, whether or not it asked them about their studies, other parts of their social lives or home environment is unknown.

I know, from sharing an office with some very competitive people, that more friends can equal higher importance. On sites like Twitter and LinkedIn, it is a game to get more people following you and then use it beat your buddy with your popularity. 

Is there a difference between these sites and Facebook that makes us more carefree and less stressed about pleasing people?

What do you think? Do you get stressed over Facebook? Do you adapt your status to make yourself look more popular? Do you have different personas on other social networking sites?