Socializing Alone: How Online Homophily Has Undermined Social Cohesion in the US (2024)

Abstract

Online social networks have changed how people interact across large distances. We examine the long-run effect of a key feature of these networks – online homophily – on interpersonal interactions in local communities. Using Facebook data, we measure online homophily across counties in the United States. To identify effects, we exploit a conflict between Facebook and Google over data sharing of user information in the early expansion phase of Facebook, which induced variation in the ability to connect with friends in socially similar counties. We find evidence that homophilic connections led to increased Facebook usage but reduced offline socialization, as measured by visits to bars, restaurants, and live sports events. The effects are substantial: we estimate that a one-standard deviation increase in online homophily led to a 60-70% long-run increase in social media usage and approximately a 25% reduction in offine socialization. This shift was accompanied by a deterioration of local social cohesion, as individuals became less connected across income strata and less likely to share the same political opinions with others in their counties. Overall, our results indicate that when a natural demand for connecting with socially similar people is met by the supply of a 'death-of-distance' technology, it comes at the cost of social cohesion and traditional community bonds at the local level.