University of Colorado sophomore Caitlin Lizza is not a Facebook junkie. By her own estimation, the 19 year old spends less than an hour a day on the social networking site, saying she mostly uses the site to stay connected with her close friends and her family back home while at school. But Caitlin Lizza did notice recently that she had reached something of a milestone on Facebook: she had reached 1,000 friends.

Now, 1,000 friends is quite a lot; but Caitlin Lizza likes to downplay the significance of the number. “I have Facebook friends that I don’t even really know,” she laughs. “Sometimes people ask me and I just click yes, just because.” But having 1,000 Facebook friends just feels like a good number, she agrees. “It’s not like having friends is a competition or anything,” Caitlin Lizza says, “but it does feel good.”

One of the ways in which Caitlin Lizza has reached this number is through her natural love of making new friends. During her first year at CU, Caitlin Lizza made all kinds of new friends both in her classes and in her dorms. Many of these friends became Facebook friends as well, as Facebook is an easy way for new acquaintances to keep in touch. Making new friends is one of Caitlin Lizza’s favorite things to do, and this love naturally translates into high numbers on the social networking site.

Caitlin Lizza says that the number is nothing to celebrate, but gives her a nice feeling. “It’s kind of nice, you know, to think about having 1,000 friends. Of course they are not all best friends, but it still feels kind of good, you know?”

When asked what the ideal number of Facebook friends might be, Caitlin Lizza pauses. “Well, 10,000 would be nice, wouldn’t it?” she laughs. “But no, seriously, I don’t think about it that way. I am just happy to have the friends I have; I feel lucky every day that I have the great friends I have in my life. The rest is just numbers.” Caitlin Lizza’s good attitude on the subject shines through.