Meta and researchers from Harvard and Stanford has released a new report on how social connectedness can affect economic prospect. For instance, it studied how connection to friends with higher incomes help open more opportunities for others.
The new report highlights these links. Meta says this is how its data insights can help study society when shared responsibly to protect privacy.
The university researchers worked with Meta to examine privacy-protected data from Facebook and Instagram users in the US.
“The researchers found that social connections play an important role in helping people achieve economic mobility. Neighborhoods that foster more connections between low-income and high-income people tend to have higher levels of mobility,” says Meta.
Meta has released the data to the public. You can see various social connectedness data points. And you can find the resulting economic prospect in your region.
The chart allows you to sort data by county or ZIP code. You can also filter by high school or college. It shows how connected people from varying economic circumstances are in your area.
The greater the mix of low and high-income students, the greater the opportunity. Stronger connections lead to better economic mobility.
“The research also highlights why it’s crucial that policymakers take social factors and interventions into account when designing policies, such as the need for mentorship programs in under-resourced schools to complement financial support,” adds Meta.
The more bridges built between lower and higher income levels, the better the opportunity to facilitate. The new data highlights the key regions that must improvement as well.
You will find more interesting insights in the study. For instance, it can determine where higher-level bureaucrats and researchers send their kids to school.
The main purpose is to emphasize the data’s value for academics. And they did it in a way that upholds private user information.
Meta owns the largest database of human perceptions in history. If it can open a window to study it without exposing private information, it can be a valued resource.
Read the full Social Capital Atlas overview here.
