Connected: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of Connected, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Our networks shape our lives
Christakis and Fowler argue that we are deeply influenced by the people we are connected to, and by their connections too.
Our emotions, health and choices spread through social networks.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Influence reaches three steps
The authors propose that influence spreads up to three degrees of separation, to friends of friends of friends.
Beyond that, the effect fades. Each extra step weakens the link, as the people become more distant.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Happiness can spread
The authors report that people with happy friends are more likely to become happy themselves.
Emotions travel through networks. In their data, a happy friend, and even a friend's friend, was linked with higher happiness.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Weight patterns spread
The authors found that obesity appeared to spread through social ties.
Friends seemed to influence each other's norms about weight, though some researchers later questioned these statistical methods. The question is still debated.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Quitting can spread too
The authors found that people often quit smoking in groups.
Behaviours spread both ways. When one person in a group gave up the habit, others close to them were more likely to follow.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Network position matters
The authors explain that where a person sits in a network affects their influence and well-being.
Central people get more of what flows. A person with many links can see more and reach more than one on the edge.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Online networks follow old rules
The authors discuss how online social networks reflect patterns found offline.
Technology changes scale, not human nature. People still tend to link with those like them, and to form tight circles, even on a screen.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Humanity is a super-organism
The authors argue that human social networks act like a living whole, with properties beyond individuals.
In their view, a crowd of linked people can learn, remember and act in ways no single person can.
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