Like their extroverted pets, dog lovers make more connections online and on an average have 26 more Facebook friends than cat lovers, says a new Facebook study that confirms long-held stereotypes about dog people vs cat people.

Stereotypically, dogs are more social and easy-going, while cats are reserved, independent, and unpredictable. The new study confirms that some of these characteristics get reflected in the people who adore them.

The findings are based on data from a sample of about 160,000 people who shared photos of cats or dogs (or both) on Facebook. 

The data scientists at Facebook also found that cat people are more likely to be single than dog people (based on their profile relationship status). 

About 30 per cent of cat people are single, compared to just 24 per cent of dog people. 

"Maybe those extra 26 friends helped dog people find a mate!” Facebook said in a statement.

But unlike the stereotype, being single and a cat lover is not related to age or gender -- younger cat-lovers, and male cat-lovers of all ages are just as likely as older female cat-lovers to be single. 

The research showed that cat people tend to be friends with other cat people and dog people with other dog people. 

Specifically, cat people are 2.2 times more likely to befriend other cat people when compared to randomly chosen friends from the general population. 

Dog people befriend 1.8 times as many dog people as random.

"Cat people seem to have more indoor activities. They disproportionately like books, TV, and movies (measured in terms of Facebook Page likes). And cat people are especially fond of fantasy, sci-fi, and anime, while dog people like love stories and things about, well, dogs,” the statement said.