Alone in the Crowd
Cacioppo, John T.; Fowler, James H.; Christakis, Nicholas A.
"Alone In The Crowd: The Structure And Spread Of Loneliness In A Large
Social Network." Journal Of Personality & Social Psychology
97.6 (n.d.): 977. EBSCO: Academic Search Premier (EBSCO EIT) (XML). Web.
14 Apr. 2012.
Summary: This
reading was a scholarly article titled, “Alone in the Crowd: The Structure and
Spread of Loneliness in a Large Social Network.” The article traced the
loneliness in people’s social networks and defined the path through other
networks. The article helped find how loneliness in one person can effect
others, that there is a law of attraction between similar lonely or non-lonely
friends, and therefore individuals jointly experience similar loneliness. I
found it interesting how loneliness was evaluated and how it expands to others.
Authors(s):
John T Cacioppo
is the director for the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the
University of Chicago. He has his PhD and is extremely educated on how the mind
works and has conducted many studies making multiple connections beyond one
individual.
James H. Fowler is
a social scientist who specializes in social networks and is currently a
professor of medical genetics at the University of California.
Nicholas A.
Christakis is a physician and social scientist famous for his research on
social networks, health and behavior and how they are interrelated. He is also
a Professor of Medical Sociology at Harvard Medical School.
Key Terms:
Social loneliness was continuously brought up in this
article to reveal how individuals may be alone by themselves but how factors
such as social media, social networking and the web have an impact on their own
loneliness from the constant usage on these devices.
Networks were also a repeating term in this article to show
how one individuals feelings can impact others around them. These networks
could be found anywhere but were what had the impact of either benefiting or hurting
the other individuals. Social loneliness is created through these networks.
Quotations:
“Loneliness does not
have a bipolar opposite like happiness, but rather is like hunger, thirst, and
pain in that absence is the normal condition rather than an evocative state”
(Cacioppo 10).
This quote shows how loneliness is its own issue and cannot
be compared to other feelings. Loneliness is extreme and problematic because it
needs its own treatment and analysis and cannot be cured with simple solutions.
“whereas we found that
loneliness spreads much more easily among women than men” (Cacioppo 11)
It is startling to see this fact because when I was thinking
about it, it seemed true that women seem to be more affected by Facebook and
what they do on the Internet. When women feel lonely it is easily spread among
their other friends.
“the feeling of
loneliness seems to spread more easily than a feeling of belonging” (Cacioppo
8)
Although teenagers and users of social networking want to
belong on the sites and find others that can relate to them, it is more common
for the feeling of loneliness to spread. If one person does not feel
comfortable with their surroundings and is not satisfied with the given
circumstances then they are most likely going to spread their negativity.
Research Question:
This article helps me define more how individuals think and
why they depend on the Internet so much. When I was thinking about all the
claims Sherry Turkle makes about disconnectivity and the loss of authenticity
in the relationships we form, I wanted valuable data to be able to back up what
she assumes. It has become more apparent in my research that even if one person
uses the Internet multiple times a day, routinely, that they might feel
loneliness by substituting unrealistic friendships for real communication. Therefore,
it is more common that if one person feels this way and even if they do not
outwardly express this loneliness, that they can have a damaging impact on
others around them. This article will help me evaluate more about how
individuals think and how their behavior influences a large majority.
Connection:
This article can relate to the protests for tuition rises
and the CUNY efforts. Although the student protests were a large movement and a
cry for help, I believe that this loneliness created by the Internet can reveal
the relationships and bonds students should form with common interests and
motivations. Loneliness would most likely decrease if students made the effort
to spread their opinions online, raise awareness to others, and create solid
relationships with others to make change in the world. Social networking and
the Internet instead of being used as a time filler could have meaningful
purpose to collaborating efforts and doing something useful.
