Why people are so impressionable
I have always wondered, how people are so impressionable? Why is it that sometimes we cling to things that seem utterly absurd to others? Network theory may provide an explanation for this kind of behavior.
Even within America, there are perceivable differences in cultures from different regions. In a small town in the mid-west, everybody knows each other, and the people generally all have strong ties with each other. This type of connection causes them to act more “politely” to each other than a group of people in large, urban centers. The network structure of a densely populated location could be noticeably more fractured, as it is less likely that people are friends with everyone they meet in an ordinary day.The the difference between the tightly clustered networks of smaller geographic locations and more fractured networks of larger locations are underlying reasons for their differing characteristics.
For each network-type, the beliefs held by the people within will likely be noticeably different. It is very difficult for outside innovation to affect extremely insular networks. A lack of people who have relationships outside of the network cuts off the population’s access to outside ideas. It is unlikely that the new ideas or innovations will have the influence necessary to cause a cascade into an insular community. While connections between real people and communities may not exactly be described by theory, it stands that the ideas behind network theory are still observed. Perhaps it is not measurable that somebody will change their mind if one more person supports idea A instead of B, but the effect of societal pressures affecting individual decision-making is very real. It is not easy to disagree with everyone you have ever known, there must be a very good reason for it.
Observing the beliefs, practices and personality of communities as information diffusing through their network, it is clear why small-communities are then so resistant to change. Their extremely interconnected network creates a great resistance in the diffusion of any outside ideas. Is this a reason for why the most progressive ideas in history have always been formulated in a urban setting? Perhaps people in urban areas are more willing to listen to innovative ideas because there isn’t the resistance of an entire community weighing their decision. Can this also explain the difference in political beliefs (conservative vs liberal)? Using the ideas of network theory, it is now apparent the geographic influences on people’s subjectivity to reason.
How then does the internet play a role in this? for many people now, the internet serves as a modern-day tablet of truth. Just as people in the past unconditionally accepted the word of religion, many people now take whatever is on the internet at face value. How many high school students in America blindly believe in the veracity of everything posted on wikipedia or take the stuff posted on sparknotes as an accurate depiction of an assigned reading? Though it may seem unreasonable to teachers, I would argue that the very structure of the internet has caused this. The internet can be though of as a super macro version of the small Midwestern town described earlier. The anonymity of the internet is also what gives it its credibility. In a sense, everybody knows everybody else who is on the internet, since nobody really knows who the other person is behind the screen. Because nobody has information, everybody has the same information, and in a sense know each other. Because of this, the internet carries with itself the authority of everyone else who is on at the same time. While an individual online opinion may not influence anyone’s decision strongly, who can argue against an entire generation of internet users?
This brings me to my last point: the role of the internet in driving innovation. As much of a tool as the internet can be for creating bad English papers, the same authority it carries can help alleviate the first problem mentioned: the clusters of insular communities around the world. The internet has allowed people to form a new network of relationships outside what they physically experience. It is not unlikely that topics of discussion and beliefs, sometimes conflicting, may overlap in these two networks. The authority of the internet makes it possible for people in otherwise remote areas to adopt revolutionary ideas. It is how even in the most oppressive of regimes, people who are connected to the internet carry on liberal ideals. Not only a medium of information, the internet has become the ever-present wave of concurring opinions supporting people in their search of the truth.