Want To Be Friends Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

Want To Be Friends Reading Passage

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For hundreds of millions of individuals throughout the globe, internet networking has become an integral part of our everyday lives. However, a decades-old observation from a study of conventional social networks clearly explains one of the most crucial characteristics of modern internet networking. Sociologist Mark Granovetter proved in 1973 that the weak connections in our social network disproportionately affect our behaviour and decisions. According to Granovetter's research findings, many large numbers of individuals get employment through the suggestions or advice of a weak connection. Our weak-tie connections have exploded through online social networking today. Jennifer Golbeck of the University of Maryland says, ‘You couldn't keep all of those weak relationships on your own, Online platforms, such as Facebook, provide a mechanism to catalogue them.’ The result? It is now substantially simpler for a school friend you haven't seen in years to give you a tip that changes your behaviour, such as a suggestion for low-cholesterol morning cereal or an invitation to a party where you meet your future spouse.

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 According to Judith Donath of the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard University, the emergence of weak relationships might also have significant impacts on our social systems. She added, ‘We’re already seeing changes.’ Many individuals today rely on their online social networks rather than newspapers and television for credible and pertinent news and information, for instance. Even though what they hear is incorrect, change is nevertheless occurring. If these enormous supernets' - some of which include up to 5,000 individuals - continue to survive and expand, they might profoundly alter the way we exchange information and our conceptions of relationships.

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An evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Oxford, Robin Dunbar, believed that our primate brains enforce a limit of around 150 on the number of genuine interpersonal contacts we can handle. Online social networking seems to be very good for 'servicing relationships, but not for building them, according to Dunbar. Our evolutionary roots indicate that we still rely primarily on physical and face-to-face contact to be able to build connections, he argues.

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Despite this, there is proof that online networking can influence our regular conversations. Jeff Hancock, psychologist at Cornell University, in an experiment he asked individuals to try to encourage other participants to like them through instant messaging conversation. Beforehand, some individuals were permitted to visit the Facebook account of the person they were attempting to convince. Those with Facebook access made a questionnaire to which they already knew the answers or brought up items they shared, resulting in far more effective social interactions. People who visit these websites to keep updated on the activities of their acquaintances are more likely to be liked in subsequent social interactions, Hancock concluded.

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Online social networking may also have significant ramifications on our healthcare. Nicole Ellison of Michigan State University discovered that the frequency of using networking sites correlates with greater self-esteem. Ellison says, support and reinforcement from the weak connections could be the explanation. She says, ‘There is nothing new about asking close friends for help or guidance, but we are seeing a decline in barriers among strangers,’ People are more willing than they formerly were to share their feelings and experiences with a wider audience. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sandy Pentland, agrees with this. He says, the ability to communicate with our social group means we will never feel alone. Lack of social support is often the origin of our problems. Now, there is more of a safety net.’

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At MIT, Henry Holman, who analyses the connection between online social networking and the real world, points out that growing accessibility also indicates our various social spheres - family, work, friends - are combining, and so we will have to prepare for new society's standards. He says, we will need to learn how to live an open life. We may have to give up the opportunity to provide others with very limited views into ourselves.

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 It seems that online networking is changing our social structures through dominance. Michael Kearns, the University of Pennsylvania, In one repeated experiment he asked 30 volunteers to quickly reach a decision in an online game over a choice between two colours. If people succeeded in persuading the group to pick one or other colour, then each person was offered a cash reward. Although all participants could see the colour chosen by some of the other individuals, certain participants had an extra advantage: the ability to see more of the participants’ chosen colours than others. Kearns discovered that individuals who could see the choices of more participants (i.e. who were more connected) were always able to persuade the group to choose their colour, even though they had to convince the great majority to give up their cash incentive. While Kearns emphasises that the environment was artificial, he suggests that well-connected people may also have stronger persuasive power in the online realm of ordinary life.

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