Birds of a Feather Flock Together (on Social Media that is…)

Social Media and Connection

According to Seppälä (2012), social connection is important for many reasons. A strong social connection improves health, psychological well-being and leads to a 50% increased chance of having a long life. It improves our immune system and helps us recover from disease faster. It has also been shown to lower anxiety and decrease the chance of depression as well as increase a person’s self-esteem. People who feel more connected to others are more trusting, empathetic and more cooperative. Essentially, social connectedness generates social, physical and emotional wellbeing. In comparison, a lack of social connectedness is associated with antisocial behavior and a decline in both psychological and physical health (Seppälä, 2012).

Anderson and Livni (2019) point out that connecting with others is a biological imperative and helps us thrive as humans. People need others to survive and regardless of one’s age, economic status, sex, culture or country — social connection is critical to our existence (Livni, 2019).

Dayal (2016), states that human beings have always been part of one tribe or another, connected by similar interests, and social media is no exception. The way we communicate with each other has changed and the medium is ever evolving but the need to connect with people who share our pursuits endures. Reverse socializing as a phenomenon is trending and people are able to communicate with a more targeted group of people through topic specific websites and groups. Interest-based networks are built around common threads (interests) where people swap views, get to know each other and eventually become friends (Dayal, 2016).

According to Dayal (2016), social media platforms have been vital to maintaining relationships with family and friends when distance is a factor and keeping social relationships alive through chat and messaging that otherwise would have died off over time. Social networks are a powerful facilitator of communication and a way for like minded people to discuss and share interests (Dayal, 2016).

What is Homophily?

According to Retica (2006), in the 1950’s, sociologist created the term “homophily” which means “love of the same”. This terminology explains human existences’ tendency to link up with people of a like mind. Back then the term didn’t really catch on but with Social Media, it has been given a rebirth. The author goes on to say that people’s social networks are homogeneous, that “birds of a feather, flock together” and that people tend to gravitate toward others like themselves — both offline and online (Retica, 2006).

Hoffman (2011), points out that humans naturally follow social influence and are affected by their peers, friends, surroundings, environment and more. People have a tendency to mimic their friend’s behavior and attitudes. It is typically understood that people conform so that other people will like and accept them. Humans associate with those that have similar interests, values, backgrounds, attitudes and personality. Essentially, similarity draws people closer together. The social psychology of “mirroring” (movements, behavior, vernacular) people that are friends or people that you like is an example of the subconscious influence that others have over you and vice versa (Hoffman, 2011).

According to Herhold (2019), social media interaction is part of people’s everyday lives and it can be a great way for people to connect with others that share similar interests. It also gives people a bigger sense of community where they can truthfully express how they feel about and view the world around them. Facebook especially, is a great place to build communities of like-minded individuals with their “Facebook groups” feature. It is the most used platform and gives individuals the ability to connect with others who share similar likes and interests (Herhold, 2019).

The main benefit of social media as it pertains to homophily is the fact that social networking platforms make it so easy to connect with like-minded people.

Homophily and Algorithms

Herhold (2019) points out that the Facebook algorithm in particular is designed to curate a custom experience based on a user’s interests and interaction. This in turn creates a place where you know the content appearing in your newsfeed is of value and interest to you personally (Herhold, 2019).

According to Agrawal (2016), Facebook is the biggest example of a social media site using algorithms the most effectively. One of the main reasons for this is because the platform is so large that it just wouldn’t make sense for the newsfeed to be set up chronologically. Facebook wants its users to receive the content that they actually care about. Some of the main considerations/factors that influence the algorithm are:

· How often has a user hidden a post?

· How often is a post interacted with?

· The level of engagement?

· The performance of a post among similar viewers?

Agrawal (2016) says that the long and short of it is: Facebook has made it a priority to show content relevant to specific users likes and interests. Twitter is another example of a social media platform that has implements algorithms with a feature called “the best tweets you may have missed” (or historical tweets). For Instagram, its feed is also an algorithm based one that considers personal relevancy to determine what users see first (Agrawal, 2016).

Another way a user can find people is with hashtags — on virtually any social media platform you can type in #yourinteresthere and bring up hundreds if not thousands of other users with similar content and hobbies.

And now what does this have to do with homophily? If Facebook or Instagram is showing you content about things that you are interested in, chances are that the other users interacting with the content have similar interests. Entire communities can be built around anything really — an interest in books, movies, music, dogs, photography, hiking, cooking, tattoos, art, pet shaming, TV personalities, sewing……. any random thing.

People have a natural desire to share the things they love (or hate) with others and social media makes it easy for people to do that.

References:

Agrawal, A. J. (2016, April 21). What Do Social Media Algorithms Mean For You? Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2016/04/20/what-do-social-media-algorithms-mean-for-you/#4dc13d7a5152.

Anderson, J., & Livni, E. (2019, March 7). Facebook finally wants to help humans build meaningful connections. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://qz.com/1567191/facebook-finally-wants-to-help-humans-build-meaningful-connections/.

Dayal, S. (2016, November 2). Interest-based networks are the way of future. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://yourstory.com/2016/11/interest-based-networks-future.

Hoffman, A. (2011, November 17). You Think for Yourself but You Act Like Your Friends (on homophily). Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/you-think-for-yourself-bu_b_182605.

Herhold, K. (2019, January 17). How People Interact on Social Media in 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://themanifest.com/social-media/how-people-interact-social-media.

Retica, A. (2006, December 10). Homophily. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10Section2a.t-4.html.

Seppälä, E. (2012, August 26). Connect To Thrive. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-it/201208/connect-thrive.