Triadic Closure and Anti-Asian Hate
Source: https://www.ceu.edu/article/2020-05-27/how-we-choose-our-friends-may-lead-polarized-societies
One of the main topics we learned in class is the idea of triadic closure. If two people are friends with the same person, they are more likely to become friends with each other. This makes intuitive sense and I’m sure many of us have experienced this before, especially in the first years at college. However, there are some darker implications to this type of behavior in social networks.
A recent study by Gerardo Iniguez and his team from the Central European University showed that the slightest tendency to befriend people with similarities can lead to “extremely polarized social networks…where different groups don’t have too many connections between them”. This type of polarized society is called a “core-periphery” structure where a group of people have the most connections with the rest of the people in the network, whereas the periphery groups do not have connections between themselves. In short, this means that a polarized social network, resulting from triadic closure and the tendency to meet similar people, can lead to situations where minority groups don’t interact as much with each other compared to the majority.
We can see a clear example of this in recent events where a surge of anti-Asian hate has affected many communities after the COVID-19 pandemic took over much of society. When the pandemic first affected the United States, many of us restricted our interactions within our own social circles. Understandably, we were reluctant to branch out and talk to new people because meeting people that were less vigilant about mask-wearing and disinfectant could mean bringing the virus back to our families and infecting the people we care about. However, this meant that our society became closer to the polarized network that Iniguez talked about. When many people from the Asian communities became targets of hate crimes throughout the United States, we didn’t see a corresponding wave of protest and calls for societal reforms that were present when African Americans were targeted. This could be partly due to the fact that social distancing made it difficult to organize and host large protests, but I would argue that one of the reasons is that the Asian community is not as connected as before. Since we can’t have large gatherings safely, it has become more difficult to meet new people. Another side effect of this core-periphery structure is that most people tend to have the mentality of “As long as it doesn’t happen to me or someone I know, it doesn’t really affect me”. Regardless of whether this is a valid mentality or not, a less connected network means less people care as much as they should when these violent crimes occur.
Iniguez’s research serves to emphasize the importance of tolerance and kindness towards everyone, especially in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to help each other in this time of need, instead of closing off ourselves to people that are different from us.