The Spread of Loneliness in Social Network - Report Example

Spread of Loneliness in Social Network Introduction The article is this report the spread of loneliness in social networkfrom the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The difference between connections in social networks and individual loneliness is well studied, though little has been studied on the social network loneliness. In this study, data collected from Framingham Heart Study population is used to determine the spread of loneliness and connections of people in the social network. The results of the study indicated that loneliness occurs in clusters, and it is not represented proportionately on the social network as it spread in a contagious process. It was found that the spread of loneliness is stronger than the spread of social connections within the social networks (Shankar et al. 377). The spread of loneliness was stronger from women than men and stronger for friends than family members. From the results, it was understood that broad social forces cause loneliness, and more effort should be put on the people affecting by loneliness in the social network. However, when the people affected in the social network are protected, it will save the whole network from being affected by loneliness. People who are born to longer periods of dependency of any species and dependent on nonspecific in the entire lifespan do not do well. It is whether perceived to be living in isolation or living solitary lives. In average, people spend 80% of their time when awake with the company of other people. At this time, they prefer to be with others than spending the time being alone. Social isolation is associated with mortality, lower subjective well-being, and broad-based morbidity. Previous studies have indicated that the social isolation loneliness is a predictor of various health outcomes as compared to objective social isolation. It was found that loneliness in young adulthood and adolescence predicted many cardiovascular risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol, and body mass index. Developmental occasions of risk factors were experienced on lonely young adulthood. Loneliness is associated with elevated blood pressure, increased vascular resistance obesity, mortality in older adults, and depressive symptomatology. A certain percentage of loneliness is inheritable component in children and adults. Social factors have substantial effects on loneliness. For example, a man who leaves friends, family, and travel to a different location feel an increase in social isolation when he arrives in the next destination. Lower levels of isolations are associated with higher income, higher education, and marriage. Higher levels of loneliness are associated with rare contact with friends, living lonely, small social network, chronic work, physical health symptoms, and dissatisfied with living circumstances. The association between individual loneliness connected to other people and clustering in the social network can be attributed to three social psychological processes. Induction hypothesis indicates that the individual or one-person loneliness can cause loneliness to other people. Behavioral, emotional, and cognitive consequences of loneliness can lead to induction of loneliness (Schnittger 338). For example, people may use vocalization, facial expressions, postures and other body movements’ leads to convergence of the emotions. Homophily of emotions indicates that non-lonely or lonely individuals select or choose one another as friends, and they are connected. It is specified in Byrne’s law of attraction that direct linear relationship exists between the proportion of similar attitudes and interpersonal attraction. Shared environment hypothesis indicates that connected people jointly experience contemporary exposures, which contributes to loneliness. For example, those students arriving at college are elevated because their normal ties with their friends and families are broken. For one to differentiate between all these hypotheses, it requires repeated measures of information about network, loneliness, and information about nature and direction. Method FHS is an observational, longitudinal, and population-based cohort study, which was started in 1948. Its objective was to investigate the risk factors for the cardiovascular disease. Since it was started, four different but related cohort populations have been established; Original cohort, offspring cohort, Omni cohort, and generation 3 cohort. Continuous serial and surveillance examinations of the cohorts provide longitudinal data. All the participants are examined individually by FSH nurses and physicians and watched in a continuous manner for the outcomes. Original cohort is examined every two years while offspring cohort is examined every four years, and the data is recorded, analyzed and stored. Dependent variables are effects or outputs. In this case, the effects or outputs of loneliness are diseases like obesity, high blood pressure, and mortality in adults. Independent variables are the causes or inputs. In this case, causes or inputs of loneliness are friends, chronic work, dissatisfied living circumstances, physical health symptoms, and small social network. Those participants who move out of the town remain in the study and return after few years to be examined and complete survey forms (Hughes et al 566). Survey, laboratory, and physical examination of the participants provide a wide range of data. In every examination, the participants fill questionnaires of lab tests, physical examination, and medical history. For the ascertainment of the network ties, the information was computerized from the handwritten, archived and any document that had not been used previously in the research. Tracking sheets were used to develop network links for offspring participants and other participants in the cohorts. Results Full network indicated that 52% of the participants are likely to be lonely when a person who is directly connected is lonely. At two degrees of separation, the size of the people to be affected is 25% of the participants. At three degrees of separation, the size that is likely to be affected is 15% of the participants. At four degrees of separation, there is no effect on the participants. When the degree is maintained at three degrees, which is the rule of social network, contagion is exhibited for happiness, smoking, and obesity. It has been depicted that loneliness in the previous wave predicts loneliness in the current wave. It is also depicted that current feelings of loneliness are closely tied to our optional social connection networks measured previously as compared to those handed during birth. People who are having many friends are likely that they will not experience lonely in the future, and every extra friend reduces the rate of feeling lonely. The analysis also indicated that loneliness shapes social networks. People who are feeling lonely during the assessment are likely not to have friends during the next assessment. In comparison to people who are not lonely, they will lose 8% of their friends in a span of four years. There is no effect or change on the family members of an individual. Discussion Loneliness is not only an individual function, but also it is a property of groups of people. Lonely people will be linked to others who are lonely. The effect will be stronger as compared to the distant friends, but it extends to three degrees in the social network. It was found that the nature of friendship matters and at the same time, mutual friends show stronger effects as compared to nearby ordinary friends. The results are against the fact that loneliness within networks reflects shared environments (Miller 139). According to the longitudinal analysis, non-lonely individuals who stay around lonely individuals will grow lonelier as time goes. The analysis further suggested that loneliness appears in social network through the operations of induction and not arising because lonely individual find themselves isolated and decide to connect with lonely people. All the three-contagion process is supported by face-to-face disclosures and communication. It especially on the individuals sharing close ties and they can extend to friends. The interpersonal spread of loneliness and social network pattern of loneliness through the network appears to be more consistent with the induction hypothesis. It was found that loneliness spread quickly among friends as compared to family members. It further suggests any rejection with the aim of protecting social networks will occur more in the networks that we select as compared to those we inherit. The effect this might be limited to older populations only. Conclusion It is observed that loneliness can be passed from one person to many others. Emile Durkheim observation on suicide indicated that the rates of suicide would remain the same in groups or individuals even if the members came and went. Even if the people commit suicide or took their lives it will depend on the society they inhabit. Emile concluded that the suicide is driven partly by social forces (Schnittger 334). Loneliness has inheritable component, but the current study indicates that it is widely influenced by social network processes. People have fewer friends who will make them lonely, but they drive them to reduce the ties that they left. Before they cut the ties, they will transmit the feelings to the remaining friends leading to the start of a new circle. To help the people who are lonely in the society, it is better to intervene and repair or correct their social networks. It will help them to reduce the feeling of loneliness and live like any other human being without feeling lonely. I am interested in the topic because many people are affected by loneliness. I wanted to know the major causes of loneliness and how it can be handled such people would not fall victims of loneliness (Shankar 377). After knowing the causes and measures to handle loneliness, I would assist other people in the societies who are affected by loneliness. The study changed my thought about the topic because currently I have known the causes and how loneliness can be handled in a better and advanced way. I agree with the writer’s conclusion that the first step is on the social network such that many people will be saved from loneliness. It is because social network shapes and spreads loneliness at a higher speed. The next step of the research on loneliness is to study more ways of controlling social media such that loneliness can be reduced. Research should be on not only a social network, but also other activities and behaviors, which influences the spread of loneliness. Works Cited Hughes, David John, et al. "A tale of two sites: Twitter vs. Facebook and the personality predictors of social media usage." Computers in Human Behavior 28.2 (2012): 561-569. Miller, Greg. "Why loneliness is hazardous to your health." Science 331.6014 (2011): 138-140. Schnittger, Rebecca IB, et al. "Risk factors and mediating pathways of loneliness and social support in community-dwelling older adults." Aging & mental health 16.3 (2012): 335-346. Shankar, Aparna, et al. "Loneliness, social isolation, and behavioral and biological health indicators in older adults." Health Psychology 30.4 (2011): 377. Read More