Stronger together? The homophily trap in networks
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arXiv
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| Hauptverfasser: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2024
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| _version_ | 1866918171657633792 |
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| author | Oliveira, Marcos Neuhauser, Leonie Karimi, Fariba |
| author_facet | Oliveira, Marcos Neuhauser, Leonie Karimi, Fariba |
| contents | While homophily -- the tendency to link with similar others -- may nurture a sense of belonging and shared values, it can also hinder diversity and widen inequalities. Here, we unravel this trade-off analytically, revealing homophily traps for minority groups: scenarios where increased homophilic interaction among minorities negatively affects their structural opportunities within a network. We demonstrate that homophily traps arise when minority size falls below 25% of a network, at which point homophily comes at the expense of lower structural visibility for the minority group. Our work reveals that social groups require a critical size to benefit from homophily without incurring structural costs, providing insights into core processes underlying the emergence of group inequality in networks. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_20158 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Stronger together? The homophily trap in networks Oliveira, Marcos Neuhauser, Leonie Karimi, Fariba Social and Information Networks Computers and Society Multiagent Systems Physics and Society Applications While homophily -- the tendency to link with similar others -- may nurture a sense of belonging and shared values, it can also hinder diversity and widen inequalities. Here, we unravel this trade-off analytically, revealing homophily traps for minority groups: scenarios where increased homophilic interaction among minorities negatively affects their structural opportunities within a network. We demonstrate that homophily traps arise when minority size falls below 25% of a network, at which point homophily comes at the expense of lower structural visibility for the minority group. Our work reveals that social groups require a critical size to benefit from homophily without incurring structural costs, providing insights into core processes underlying the emergence of group inequality in networks. |
| title | Stronger together? The homophily trap in networks |
| topic | Social and Information Networks Computers and Society Multiagent Systems Physics and Society Applications |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.20158 |