The Guardian view on social networks: the friendships that can change your life | Editorial

SOcaning Capital is a major concept in social sciences – although most people do not use the term – also in general. Who you know In all kinds of ways. These links are linked to access to resources and opportunities of different types. Do governments do enough to influence this aspect of our lives and encourage the pure social movement instead of sustaining wealth and inherited situation? A new British American study suggests some amazing recommendations for change.

Using data from Facebook along with public sources and surveying, researchers – some of whom work for the Facebook and Meta owner and others for the behavioral vision team of the UK government (known as the “Defense Unit”) – works – Friendships were set throughout the United Kingdom. The results they reach are that children are poor backgrounds who live in less economical societies with higher income like adults. Those who grow up in the 10 % lower local power areas can expect to earn 5100 pounds annually than those in 10 % of the connected areas. There are major regional differences, with more interdependence in big and southeast cities, and much less in the deprived Wales and Northern Ireland parts.

Such results are intuitive and not surprising to anyone with a progressive policy. commitment Collapse Strict class discrimination and biases in the past, to distribute opportunities more balanced, is what is behind the traditional left Supporting comprehensive educationAnd nhs and Mixed societies Where people who own their homes live alongside the wealthy tenants.

The mixing is that the exchange of neighborhoods and institutions encourages benefits to all by enhancing social cohesion and trust. More importantly, it protects weak families from neglect and social exclusion due to the lack of transportation links, recreational facilities and stores that can affect bad areas. It is encouraging to know that, though Shameful levels From poverty and Social mobility In recent years, the poorest of the UK’s half -population has about half (47 %) of their friendships with the highest half -income (in the United States No. 39 %). These relationships can be considered as a form of resistance to consolidating the concession.

Future research will search for the role of schools and health. This study indicates that poor people form more friends in their neighborhoods, while their songs make them at the university. It refers to the “unique” role of universities in exposing young people to the richer peers – highlighting The social mobility function for higher education. Perhaps it is more unexpected, is a suggestion of policies to enhance hobbies and clubs, because the friendships made in these settings are likely to cross the class limits.

Those at the top and bottom of the wealth scale have fewer friends than other groups – a discovery that supports current knowledge about The effects of social erosion for inequality. Opportunities to enhance social capital should not be allowed for those who need more of them to pay attention to their urgent needs to increase income and better housing.

There is a paradox in obtaining a dead person as a partner in this research, given the weight of evidence that interest in the Jeraidi and regular companies for social media are the same insulting social life in the main aspects, and Folding social and political polarization. However, this is a valuable study.

• Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you want to provide a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered to be published in our Messages Please section Click here.