datamining | Similarity breeds connection. This principle—the homophily
principle—structures network ties of every type, including marriage,
friendship, work, advice, support, information transfer, exchange,
comembership, and other types of relationship. The result is that
people's personal networks are homogeneous with regard to many
sociodemographic, behavioral, and intrapersonal characteristics.
Homophily limits people's social worlds in a way that has powerful
implications for the information they receive, the attitudes they form,
and the interactions they experience. Homophily in race and ethnicity
creates the strongest divides in our personal environments, with age,
religion, education, occupation, and gender following in roughly that
order. Geographic propinquity, families, organizations, and isomorphic
positions in social systems all create contexts in which homophilous
relations form. Ties between nonsimilar individuals also dissolve at a
higher rate, which sets the stage for the formation of niches (localized
positions) within social space. We argue for more research on: (a)
the basic ecological processes that link organizations, associations,
cultural communities, social movements, and many other social forms; (b) the impact of multiplex ties on the patterns of homophily; and (c) the dynamics of network change over time through which networks and other social entities co-evolve. Fist tap Dale.
