Blog #14: Alone in the Crowd

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.