The magazine section of the NYTimes highlighted the work of Nick Christakis today. Christakis made headlines 2 years ago with his study of obesity. Using some very interesting data he and his co-author showed that obesity may actually spread through a social network. At first, they may seem common sense, we are certainly affected by the behaviors of our friends, aren't we? But sociologists had not been able to document this before. We still may not have the "truth," even with Christakis' work. Is he just seeing the effects of shared environment? Or of homophily (the attraction of people with similar characteristics to one another)?
Regardless of whether he has "proven" the spread of social behaviors, he makes some interesting conclusions that resonate with a certain Buddhist flavor. After looking at obesity, smoking, and drinking, he examined the "spread" of happiness among social contacts. It appears that there is an effect, stronger for happiness than for unhappiness. He concludes that if we smile at others during the day, that good feeling will be transmitted to those with whom we interact. In turn, they will spread that good feeling to others. As Jim Fowler, Christakis' co-author notes, the effect of my smiles on my son affect not just him but his best friend's mother as well.
Interesting to think about. Do our behaviors ripple through the universe in ever expanding circles? Can we set off a sense of goodness through the world? Is that what happened in the days following Obama's election? Was there a spread of good feeling through social networks? Are there uber-contacts, people who can have a massive effect on the feelings of others? Are you one of those people?
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