Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

Rich People Have Less Facebook Friends From Abroad

Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 Sep, 2015 12:30 PM
    If you think people from higher social classes have more friends abroad, you are probably wrong. According to Facebook data, wealthy people globally have less Facebook friends from other countries and more friends from their home countries.
     
    The study by University of Cambridge, conducted in collaboration with Facebook, shows a correlation between people's social and financial status and the levels of internationalism in their friendship networks.
     
    “The findings point to the possibility that the wealthy stay more in their own social bubble but this is unlikely to be ultimately beneficial. If you are not engaging internationally then you will miss out on that international resource -- that flow of new ideas and information,” explained study co-author Dr Aleksandr Spectre from Cambridge.
     
    According to researchers, the results are in line with what's known as the “restricting social class” hypothesis.
     
    It means that high-social class individuals have greater resources and, therefore, depend less on others -- with the wealthy tending to be less socially engaged, particularly with those from groups other than their own, as a result.
     
    To understand this, the research team conducted two studies -- one local and one global.
     
    The global study used a dataset of billions of Facebook friendships.
     
    For the first study, the team recruited 857 people and asked them to self-report their perceived social status.
     
     
    The volunteers also provided researchers access to their Facebook networks.
     
    The results indicated that low-social class people have nearly 50 percent more international friends than high-social class people.
     
    For the second global study, the team approached Facebook directly who provided data on every friendship formed over the network in every country in the world at the national aggregate level for 2011.
     
    The dataset included over 57 billion friendships.
     
    The team again found a negative correlation between social class - this time on a national level - and the percentage of Facebook friends from other countries.
     
    “For people from low-social class countries, 35 percent of their friendships on average were international, compared to 28 percent average in high-social class countries,” the authors noted.
     
    The findings provide support for the “restricting social class” hypothesis at both local and global level.
     
    The results also highlight how those from lower social classes are taking advantage of platforms like Facebook to increase their social capital beyond national borders.
     
    The results were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

    MORE Tech ARTICLES

    Coming, smartphones that correct vision

    Coming, smartphones that correct vision
    You can soon kiss goodbye to your glasses or contact lenses as future smartphones can adjust the display screen for better visibility for you....

    Coming, smartphones that correct vision

    Is Google allowing kids under 13 to log in?

    Is Google allowing kids under 13 to log in?
    According to technology website The Information, Google has been "working to overhaul its web services so it can legally allow children to use them"....

    Is Google allowing kids under 13 to log in?

    Most British smartphone users not downloading new apps

    Most British smartphone users not downloading new apps
    If you have lately been bombarded with apps, read this. According to a latest report by global consulting firm Deloitte, nearly 31 percent of...

    Most British smartphone users not downloading new apps

    Facebook Messenger downloaded over 500 mn times: Report

    Facebook Messenger downloaded over 500 mn times: Report
    Although it initially faced backlash by people, the new Facebook Messenger app has been downloaded over 500 million times on Android-based devices...

    Facebook Messenger downloaded over 500 mn times: Report

    No child's play: Online bullying a growing worry

    No child's play: Online bullying a growing worry
    Exposure to the cyber world may have helped children expand their mental horizons but it has many downsides, the latest being cyber bullying....

    No child's play: Online bullying a growing worry

    New genetic basis for sex determination discovered

    New genetic basis for sex determination discovered
    Not just the X and Y chromosome but a subset of very small genes also play a key role in differentiating male and female tissues in the fruit fly, researchers reported...

    New genetic basis for sex determination discovered