The Surprising Strength of Weak Ties on Mental Health

Every day, we talk to people who mean the most for us. From our romantic partners and close friends to our parents and children, most of us have at least two people with strong bonds.

But think about how many people you talk to in a normal week you won’t consider Turn off When the contacts are both in the office you always chat with the boy, the boy who regularly serves you at the grocery store, and the neighbor in which you often walk on your dogs.

In Sociology, it is known as our ‘weak relationships’, which they are called to separate from our strong ties, such as close friends and family members.

You can think that the impact of your weak relationships on your life is not equal, and that is true of some of your weak relationships. However, weak relationships can have a much more effect than you think. From improving our mental health to providing new career opportunities, they can do it.

The concept of a weak relationship

The idea of ​​a weak relationship comes from a highly influential 1973 article by Mark Granwater, a professor of Sociology at Stanford University. He suggests that we can explain the strength of mutual tie, keeping in view the amount of time, the emotional intensity, proximity and mutual services of the tie. That is, the benefits, kindness and indication from one to another.

Although we rely on strong relationships in our daily lives, they form a cluster like the social groups we belong to, where there is no new information. For example, if you were looking for a new job and talked to a group of four close friends about finding your job, they would probably be familiar with job opportunities as you go to the same circles.

However, you can even mention a knower, maybe Barisata that always serves you in the morning or served a friend’s partner at a party, that you are looking for a new job. Since they have different contacts with your strong relationship, you can contact people who don’t have you, possibly allow you to find a new job.

The benefits of a weak relationship

“Weak relationships are important because they connect you out of their social circle (because your strong relationships know each other, but your weak relationships know people who you don’t),” Dr. Granwater said while looking at his research. “That is why people are more likely to find jobs through a weak relationship than a strong relationship, why do you get information from weak relationships that you won’t find otherwise, and why you will learn about the world beyond your small circle.”

“Weak relationships can also carry out special tasks, including providing access to individual information and resources,” said Susan Sprecher, a prominent professor of socialology and humanity at Illinois State University, and said that the Department of Sociology and Sociology at the University of Illinois said that it was a new job. The article is discussed.

As he said, “Some weak relationships will be deprived of information from parts of the social system and they will be limited to the provincial news and ideas of their close friends.”

“Research shows that many people interact with more weak relationships and acquaintances in a day than close relationships, Dr. Spurcher added.” “Generally, a diverse social network (which includes intimate other and family, close friends, comfortable friends, and weakening relationships/acquaintances and other peripheral relationships) are associated with good health and well -being.”

In fact, weak relationships can promote us mental health. A 2014 study by Dr. Glenn Sandstrom and Dr. Elizabeth Dun indicates that people with a wider relationship with weak relationships are happy. Students related to this research, who found that they feel more happy and more and more feelings about the days when they interacted with classmates more than usual, as well as in the days when they usually had more interaction with people.

Weak relationship vs. strangers

Dr. Sandstrom has previously explained this, explaining that, with a weak relationship, with a weak relationship. Other definitions of weak relationships may include strangers with whom you talk -, however, most weak relationships will start at some point as a stranger.

Weak relationships can also be considered by the ideas of familiar and fruitful strangers. In 1972, social psychologist Stanley Magram identified strangers as the strangers you can recognize because you both stand at the bus stop at the same time, for example, but do not interact with it.

Meanwhile, the concept of fruitful strangers was first identified by Karen L. Fingerman in 2004. They have personal contacts that are far from our relatives and close friends who may not be so important to us, but will help us confirm their place in society.

Weak relationships in the modern world

Especially in the modern age, there may be obstacles to forming or maintaining a weak relationship. “Some people have features that make it difficult for them to communicate with others, especially new acquaintances,” says Dr. “These can be people who are shy, socially restless and biased.”

After that, there is a matter of access to time and resources. As Dr. Spurcher has explained, people who have both have more access to settings and schedules that provide them with the ability to build and maintain weak relationships.

The effects of Kovide 19 pandemic disease cannot be diminished. Since people spent more time in the house, in some cases, due to government sanctions, they had the least opportunity to have at least a personal relationship. Instead, many people spent more time with close relationships. Weak relationships can be formed online during the Code 19, however, people can be allowed to cultivate and maintain these contacts in a way that they could not do just 20 or perhaps 10 years ago.

“Weak relationships can be more important than ever (if not more important),” which explains that social media can mean that there are even more weak relationships now-for example, those who are only on social media, such as covid 19, from Kovide 19.

“Certainly, social media has allowed people to be in touch (or in knowledge).” “However, a remote task can restrict the context that can establish weak relationships. People in the settings create a weak relationship in which they occupy time.

“When people have removed themselves (and mostly at home), they have fewer opportunities for daily conversation that increase the familiarity of others that can become a key member of someone’s social network.

Psychological insights

We know that social interactions, including people we do not know well, can help enhance our sense of mental health and well-being-Dr. Sandstrom and Dr. Dunn’s 2014 study is proof of this.

In a study of 2025, the autistic people were seen during the Coid -19 pandemic diseases and indicated that people often find interaction with weak relationships more beneficial than their sense, and that they lose them during lockdown and social distance measures.

How to make our weak relationships more

It may seem clear, but to create a weak relationship, we really need to engage with other people. Often, this will mean going out and talking to people, whether you go through the street, you serve you in shops and cafes, or with which you distribute the office or class.

Some of us enjoy smaller things than others, but if you are someone who is not a fan, try your best as it can have more fruitful relationships. From classes to local colleges in the gym, participate in various programs, and you are more likely to meet different people. With these early competitions, you can contact social media or slowly talk to them more in public.

However, the effects of today’s weak relationships are as important as it has happened in the past, Dr. Granwater explained: “I do not think this effect has been changed completely. Due to weak relationships, it now applies as much as they ever.”

Down line

Weak relationships have more effect on us as much as you can. Certainly, the relationships with your acquaintances and people you do not know will not be the same with your partners and close friends, but they can still help you a lot in your personal and professional life.

Why not try to make the most with the weak relationships of your life and see where it gets you? You may find yourself in a better mood, make a couple of new friends, or consequently make progress in your career.