My entire point is that, despite having a large social circle I have only ever made “a handful of close friends.” Adjusting my life to be closer to them, instead of trying to replace them to compromise on other aspects, was one of my smartest moves ever.
At the number of friends equal to Facebook friends, definitely, but when you are talking a small fraction of Dunbar's number (which is more than a dozen dozens), I'm not sure it applies.