Missing Our Weak Ties
Reach out to a weak tie! Even if it seems a bit strange at first.
From the barista at our favorite cafe to the person that we used to make small talk with before class started, social distancing has removed all of our weak ties from our lives. Though we may have barely thought about these types of interactions, now that they’re gone we miss them. Employees look for virtual replacements for the “water cooler talk” that helped them bond with coworkers. Club members try platforms like Slack or Discord to create more opportunities to interact with others. Why are we trying so hard to fill the gap? We already know that weak ties are important under regular circumstances. We rely on them as an essential source of new information and novel ideas. According to the article, it’s for the very same reason that they are even more important now as we’re staying home and our social circles grow smaller. The “new thoughts, different ideas and new ways of thinking that you probably won’t get from your inner circle” are what we need to begin to adjust to and move on from the big changes that the pandemic has introduced into our lives. Though it may seem tiring to keep up with our weak ties virtually, especially when staying in touch with our strong ties can sometimes feel difficult, it is more important than we may think.
In his paper, The Strength of Weak Ties, Mark Granovetter shows how weak ties can be important in our professional lives. This benefit is still relevant now, with many people being out of jobs and weak ties having information about possible opportunities. Outside of professional lives, weak ties are also important because our interactions with them can help make us feel like things are just a little bit more normal. Senior psychology lecturer Nathan Heflick makes a tasty comparison of our weak ties to foods that we like, but that we eat all the time. While pasta 0r rice might not be as exciting to us as perfectly grilled shrimp, they’re essential! When we sit down next to a classmate and complain about an assignment, or say hello to the friendly person taking our lunch order, we are building up a routine. If we maintain these ties, we can provide ourselves a sense of stability that is especially welcome now when it seems like almost nothing is certain.
Interestingly, though, we can’t just count on social media to keep us connected to some weak ties. In class, we talk about strong ties being similar by nature. If two people are close friends, we can assume that they have similar interests and views. Online, it turns out that this can be true for even your weak ties. The way in which we filter and select the ties we form online takes away the great benefit of weak ties. They no longer offer challenging views or new opportunities, but join our strong ties in a bubble of similar opinions and outlooks. To counter act this, use social media as a way to expand outside of your immediate network.
Using information from the article and what we’ve covered in class, I’ve laid out several reasons why we should care about our weak ties. Simply put, it’s good for the mind and soul! So reach out to a weak link and take care to be more intentional in your interactions online. It’s a simple step that you can take to bring some refreshing energy to your day.