The Determinants of Social Connectedness in Europe

We use de-identified and aggregated data from Facebook to study the structure of social networks across European regions. Social connectedness declines strongly in geographic distance and at country borders. Historical borders and unions—such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia, and East/...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial Informatics pp. 1 - 14
Main Authors Bailey, Michael, Johnston, Drew, Kuchler, Theresa, Russel, Dominic, State, Bogdan, Stroebel, Johannes
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Cham Springer International Publishing 07.10.2020
SeriesLecture Notes in Computer Science
Subjects
Border effects
Homophily
Social connectedness
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:We use de-identified and aggregated data from Facebook to study the structure of social networks across European regions. Social connectedness declines strongly in geographic distance and at country borders. Historical borders and unions—such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia, and East/West Germany—shape present-day social connectedness over and above today’s political boundaries and other controls. All else equal, social connectedness is stronger between regions with residents of similar ages and education levels, as well as between regions that share a language and religion. In contrast, region-pairs with dissimilar incomes tend to be more connected, likely due to increased migration from poorer to richer regions.
ISBN:303060974X
9783030609740
ISSN:0302-9743
1611-3349
DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-60975-7_1