Segregation and polarization in urban areas
Social behaviours emerge from the exchange of information among individuals—constrained by and reciprocally influencing the structure of information flows. The Internet radically transformed communication by democratizing broadcast capabilities and enabling easy and borderless formation of new acqua...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Royal Society
2019-10-01
|
Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190573 |
id |
doaj-ada15a0d791746ba883109bcb79bf163 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-ada15a0d791746ba883109bcb79bf1632020-11-25T04:09:48ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032019-10-0161010.1098/rsos.190573190573Segregation and polarization in urban areasAlfredo J. MoralesXiaowen DongYaneer Bar-YamAlex ‘Sandy’ PentlandSocial behaviours emerge from the exchange of information among individuals—constrained by and reciprocally influencing the structure of information flows. The Internet radically transformed communication by democratizing broadcast capabilities and enabling easy and borderless formation of new acquaintances. However, actual information flows are heterogeneous and confined to self-organized echo-chambers. Of central importance to the future of society is understanding how existing physical segregation affects online social fragmentation. Here, we show that the virtual space is a reflection of the geographical space where physical interactions and proximity-based social learning are the main transmitters of ideas. We show that online interactions are segregated by income just as physical interactions are, and that physical separation reflects polarized behaviours beyond culture or politics. Our analysis is consistent with theoretical concepts suggesting polarization is associated with social exposure that reinforces within-group homogenization and between-group differentiation, and they together promote social fragmentation in mirrored physical and virtual spaces.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190573segregationpolarizationurban systemsdata sciencehuman behaviour |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alfredo J. Morales Xiaowen Dong Yaneer Bar-Yam Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland |
spellingShingle |
Alfredo J. Morales Xiaowen Dong Yaneer Bar-Yam Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland Segregation and polarization in urban areas Royal Society Open Science segregation polarization urban systems data science human behaviour |
author_facet |
Alfredo J. Morales Xiaowen Dong Yaneer Bar-Yam Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland |
author_sort |
Alfredo J. Morales |
title |
Segregation and polarization in urban areas |
title_short |
Segregation and polarization in urban areas |
title_full |
Segregation and polarization in urban areas |
title_fullStr |
Segregation and polarization in urban areas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Segregation and polarization in urban areas |
title_sort |
segregation and polarization in urban areas |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
series |
Royal Society Open Science |
issn |
2054-5703 |
publishDate |
2019-10-01 |
description |
Social behaviours emerge from the exchange of information among individuals—constrained by and reciprocally influencing the structure of information flows. The Internet radically transformed communication by democratizing broadcast capabilities and enabling easy and borderless formation of new acquaintances. However, actual information flows are heterogeneous and confined to self-organized echo-chambers. Of central importance to the future of society is understanding how existing physical segregation affects online social fragmentation. Here, we show that the virtual space is a reflection of the geographical space where physical interactions and proximity-based social learning are the main transmitters of ideas. We show that online interactions are segregated by income just as physical interactions are, and that physical separation reflects polarized behaviours beyond culture or politics. Our analysis is consistent with theoretical concepts suggesting polarization is associated with social exposure that reinforces within-group homogenization and between-group differentiation, and they together promote social fragmentation in mirrored physical and virtual spaces. |
topic |
segregation polarization urban systems data science human behaviour |
url |
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190573 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT alfredojmorales segregationandpolarizationinurbanareas AT xiaowendong segregationandpolarizationinurbanareas AT yaneerbaryam segregationandpolarizationinurbanareas AT alexsandypentland segregationandpolarizationinurbanareas |
_version_ |
1724421708758122496 |