From the Small Worlds reading, this photo stuck out most to me, for whatever reason – most likely that it was a photo with not too much of a caption, and it was from the first couple of pages, and I might have been kind of rushed for time.
Anyway, I found this quite intriguing and I tend to agree with what it’s trying to convey: that our social lives include close friends that are often friends with each other, but also people that are more acquaintances, who you are not as close with, but they are close to their own friends, who you are therefore loosely tied to as well. This idea of Mark Granovetter’s from the 60s is, I think, clearly more relevant today in the world of online social networks, which I’m sure is the reason behind this reading being set. I’m also sure Facebook was influenced by Granovetter’s ideas, as the ‘mutual friends’ feature is such an ingrained part of the system, to the point that we probably hardly even consider it a feature anymore. Since Facebook’s rise to power, I feel that Granovetter’s idea has not so much become more true, but certainly become more prominent in our lives, as the mere acquaintance often now dominates our news feeds.