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Segregation and polarization in urban areas
Alfredo J Morales1,2, Xiaowen Dong2,3, Yaneer Bar-Yam1
1New England Complex Systems Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Royal Society Open Science
|December 12, 2019
Summary
The internet mirrors real-world social divisions, with online interactions segregated by income and physical proximity. This virtual mirroring of geographical space contributes to social fragmentation and polarization.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Network Science
- Computational Social Science
Background:
- Social behaviors arise from information exchange, influenced by communication structures.
- The internet democratized communication but led to heterogeneous information flows within echo chambers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how physical segregation impacts online social fragmentation.
- To determine if virtual social spaces reflect geographical divisions.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of online social interactions and their correlation with geographical and socioeconomic data.
- Examination of information flow patterns in virtual spaces.
Main Results:
- Online interactions are segregated by income, mirroring physical segregation.
- Physical separation correlates with polarized behaviors, extending beyond cultural or political divides.
- Virtual social spaces reflect geographical space, with proximity-based learning dominating.
Conclusions:
- The virtual space is a reflection of geographical space.
- Online social fragmentation is influenced by physical segregation and income-based divisions.
- This mirroring of physical and virtual spaces promotes social polarization and fragmentation.
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