The term ‘six degrees of separation‘ was coined by Stanley Milgrim way back in 1967, long before the advent of online social networks and ubiquitous cell phone use. Fast forward to 2008, and European telecommunications firm O2 commissions Jeff Rodrigues to to take another look at the six degrees of separation in a world vastly more connected than it was over 40 years ago.
And what did he discover? Amazingly, after interviews with three age groups (18-25, 35-45, and 55+), Rodrigues found that the notion of any one person being connected to another by a maximum of six degrees is no longer valid-at least within a shared interest group.
Within a group that shares a particular interest, the average person is connected to every other by only three degrees of separation. According to the study, the quality of connections we now have is key in reducing the number of degrees of separation-participants in the study have never felt more connected, even compared to just 5 years ago.
Mobile phones and email were the two technologies that had the most impact in creating only three degrees of separation, with instant messaging also playing an important role and online social networks such as Facebook important to the younger age group.
It’s worth noting that not only was this a paid study, but also that the notion of three degrees of separation only applies to niche groups. However, it is amazing to think of how connected us global citizens really are these days.
via techcrunch
