Allison Cranston
Aug 31, 2018 · 2 min read

Let’s Stick Together Like Glue!

Feeling Connected in Social Media

Homophily which has gone on long before social media is like the old saying, “Birds of a feather stick together.” We often surround ourselves with individuals who like the same things. Doing so tends to make us happy and content. So, when social media erupted onto the scene, things really didn’t change that much except for the size of the platform. Social media has become an important part of many people’s lives (Greitemeyer, 2016). It allows you to like posts from others that you may or may not know, but have the same interests as you. In just seconds you can literally connect with people from all over the world who have interests and likes just like you. These likes can give you a sense of belonging and create happy emotions.

The Concept of Homophily

Homophily allows individuals to interact with other individuals whom have like interests. Social groups either online or in person give individuals a sense of belonging. These groups on social media can often give shy or timid individuals a sense of empowerment, because they may never have the courage to interact in person.

Contributions of Platform Algorithms to the Development Homophily

Face book is the most influential algorithm in social media (Hutchinson, 2018). Algorithms are designed to show you content that you are mostly interested in (Hutchinson, 2018). Social media is an easy platform for these algorithms. Where else can you quickly get the attention of a whole lot of people? Facebook, Instagram and Snap chat can easily help companies share an promote their products. Having an account on one or all of these sites will help your company spread the word on how great your product is!!

References

Greitemeyer, T., 2016. Computers in Human Behavior. Volume 59, Facebook and People’s State Self-esteem: The Impact of the Number of other Users’ Facebook Friends. Retrieved from https://www-sciencedirect-com.library.capella.edu/science/article/pii/S0747563216300577

Hutchinson, A., 2018. Social Media Today: Keeping Up With the Algorithms: What You Need to Know About Each Platform’s Sorting System

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