Social Groups

As a sociologist I know a little about social groups, really only a little because they aren't my particular area of interest or expertise. However, it is interesting to take a minute now and then and look at social networks. There is some interesting research out of Harvard these days about the role of social networks in influencing health behaviors. Christakis got a lot of press a few years ago about the "spread of obesity" through social networks, his work on happiness wasn't quite as well-covered.

I have a few very distinct social networks. First, there is my family (both family of origin and destination...students can look those up). Second, is my network of professional peers. Of course, within that network there are people I would consider friends, some who are rivals, and some who are just "colleagues" (a polite term to call people you respect, but know only casually.) Within that group of peers, there are those who are in my field of study and those who are in my institution. We have very different relationships. One group knows me by my research interests, the other by my administrative roles.

I have a network of book readers, really two-one virtual, one face to face (f2f!). Some of those network members are also friends, others I see only once a month at book group. I even have a network of exercise companions, bound together by our shared experiences and sweat. There is surprisingly little overlap in these networks. I don't exercise with anyone from book group, nobody from my family is a professional colleague.

The variety of social groups to which you belong and their roles is an interesting thing to think about.