The effect of gossip on social networks

Allison K. Shaw, Milena Tsvetkova, Roozbeh Daneshvar
2010 Complexity  
In this article, we develop a simple model for the effect of gossip spread on social network structure. We define gossip as information passed between two individuals A and B about a third individual C which affects the strengths of all three relationships: it strengthens A-B and weakens both B-C and A-C. We find, in both an analytic derivation and model simulations, that if gossip does not spread beyond simple triads, it destroys them but if gossip propagates through large dense clusters, it
more » ... rengthens them. Additionally, our simulations show that the effect of gossip on network metrics (clustering coefficient, average-path-length, and sum-of-strengths) varies with network structure and average-node-degree.
doi:10.1002/cplx.20334 fatcat:oxycik3qwfhnzh6kg6h6xiht44