3.3a Networks

Networks are the connections, interactions, and influence between individuals and groups. Network connections vary in strength and influence. People who spend a lot of time together and consider themselves family or friends often have stronger ties or relationships. Acquaintances, in contrast, have weaker ties to each other. However, weak ties also serve as a bridge from one group to another.

Photo 3.11

Networks Connect Individuals and Groups

Sociologists have studied how the strength of these ties or social relationships matters in finding jobs. Granovetter (1973) interviewed and then surveyed people about how job-seekers found work. He focused on how well we knew someone and whether knowing someone better (a strong tie, like a close friend) was more beneficial than knowing someone less well (a weak tie, like a classmate). He discovered that weak ties provided information about open positions that stronger ties had not shared. More recent research suggests that strong ties also matter in learning about jobs. People also regard strong ties as providing more emotional and informational support (such as information about job openings) than do weak ties (Krämer et al., 2021). In other words, both strong and weak ties are useful.

Ideas also spread through social networks. For example, one way people convert to a new religion is through existing social ties (Everton, 2018). An individual’s primary group (friends and family) may introduce them to their beliefs or invite them to attend activities affiliated with their religious organization. Furthermore, leaving a religious group can be challenging because it often results in the loss of many strong social ties, including ties with primary group members, such as family members.