I Like Your Likes: Homophily in Social Media

Brent Morgan
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

Social Media Psychology

There are many driving forces behind the need to engage in social media. Social media posts allow us to present ourselves to the public in a very refined and controlled fashion. We can edit our profiles to showcase ourselves in the best possible light, unlike the uncontrollable nature we can ve viewed in the physical world. Posting carefully crafted content that is viewed and liked by the masses is incredibly rewarding. Furthermore, by liking the content of others we can maintain and develope relationships with the click of a button (Seiter, 2015). This also creates an obligtion for the reciever or your like to respond in kind. This reciprocity creates a feedback loop that reinforces both parties.

Birds of a Feather…

Homophily, a term coined in the 1950s, describes our tendency to gravitate towards others who share rather than refute our core beliefs (Retica, 2006). Our interactions on the Internet are not devoid of this phenomenon. The afore mentioned social media feedback loop is one reason for this. Dealing with people who like what we have to say is always more reinforcing than reading a comment from someone who thinks you are wrong. Over time we end up cultivating an ever growing circle of like minded individuals.

…Flock to the Same Cat Videos

To make matters worse social media algorithms actively promote this dynamic. Websites catering to our tastes is nothing new. Think of how Google ads will show you products similar to the kinds of things you search for on the Internet. Social Media sites are no different. They have a tendancy to push together individuals who like the same sorts of things.

References:

Retica, A. (2006, dec 10). Homophily. Retrived from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10Section2a.t-4.html

Seiter, C. (2015, aug 10). The Psychology of Social Media: The Deep Impulses That Drive Us Online. Retrieved from https://blog.bufferapp.com/psychology-of-social-media

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