Connected by chance?
Social Media Connection
Feeling connected through social media gives individuals a sense of belonging. The main motivation of using social media is because it makes it easier to facilitate relationships. Whether you are forming a new relationship or you are maintaining a current relationship, social media gives you that feeling of “connection”.
According to social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) individuals have an intrinsic tendency to compare themselves to others to learn where they stand and that these comparisons can have an impact on the individuals well-being.
If individuals compare themselves to other people (upward comparison) on social media and based on their profile, posts, etc. they are experiencing more success than them, it will make individuals feel better about themselves. Examples of that could be: They have a better job, are in a happier relationship, kid just made the varsity team, etc.
Also, if you have hobbies, special interest, etc. you are going to seek out like minded individuals. Being part of a “community” gives individuals the feeling of belonging and contributing to something bigger than themselves.
Homophily
“If you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas”. -Seneca
That is a perfect example of homophily. Homophily can help you create your universe. If you are a drug user you are going to want to be around other drug users. I believe Crossfit has been so successful because they incorporated homophily into their culture and into their social media branding. You can not log onto any Crossfit social media platform and see a group of individuals working out together and cheering each other on. If you feel gratification from people pumping you up and cheering you on, you are going to want to visit a Crossfit gym.
If you want to level up your network or your net worth, you might want to join social media groups that are encouraging or have a mastermind group where you focus on personal development. That is the great thing about homophily and social media, you can literally become affiliated with whatever it is that you are looking for.
Algorithms
According to AJ Agrwal’s article on Forbes.com (2016) Facebook is probably the biggest example of a social media platform using algorithms to great effect. Facebook is constantly developing homophily because they want to make sure that people receive content that they are actually interest in. How many times have you searched for a product on Amazon.com and found it immediately on your social media fee? That is an algorithm in full effect. I like to scroll through Instagram to discover new food places I want to try out around my area. Everytime I do that, I end up finding new places because Instagram is constantly pushing new content to me.
Sources:
L. FestingerA theory of social comparison processes
Human Relations, 7 (1954), pp. 117–140
