Suchergebnisse

We use de-identified data from Facebook Groups to study and provide a descriptive analysis of local gift-giving communities, in particular Buy Nothing groups. These communities allow people to give items they no longer need, reduce waste, and connect to local community. Millions of people have joined Buy Nothing groups on Facebook, with an increasing pace through the COVID-19 pandemic. Buy Nothing groups are more popular in dense and urban US counties with higher educational attainment. Compared to other local groups, Buy Nothing groups have lower Facebook friendship densities, suggesting they bring together people who are not already connected. The interaction graphs in Buy Nothing groups form larger strongly connected components, indicative of norms of generalized reciprocity. The interaction patterns in Buy Nothing groups are similar to other local online gift-giving groups, with names containing terms such as `free stuff" and `pay it forward". This points to an interaction signature for local online gift-giving communities.

We use aggregated data from Facebook to study the structure of social networks across European regions. Social connectedness declines strongly in geographic distance and at country borders. Historical borders and unions — such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia, and East/West Germany — shape present-day social connectedness over and above today's political boundaries. All else equal, social connectedness is stronger between regions with residents of similar ages and education levels, as well as between those that share a language and religion. In contrast, region-pairs with dissimilar incomes tend to be more connected, likely due to increased migration from poorer to richer regions. We find more socially connected region-pairs to have more passenger train trips between them, even after controlling for distance and travel time. We also find that regions with a higher share of connections to other countries have higher rates of trust in the E.U. and lower rates of voting for anti-E.U. political parties.

We use de-identified and aggregated data from Facebook to study the structure of social networks across European regions. Social connectedness declines strongly in geographic distance and at country borders. Historical borders and unions—such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia, and East/West Germany—shape present-day social connectedness over and above today's political boundaries and other controls. All else equal, social connectedness is stronger between regions with residents of similar ages and education levels, as well as between regions that share a language and religion. In contrast, region-pairs with dissimilar incomes tend to be more connected, likely due to increased migration from poorer to richer regions.