In
mathematical sociology,
interpersonal ties are defined as information-carrying connections between people. Interpersonal ties, generally, come in three varieties:
strong,
weak or
absent. Weak social ties, it is argued, are responsible for the majority of the embeddedness and structure of
social networks in
society as well as the transmission of
information through these networks. Specifically, more novel information flows to individuals through weak rather than strong ties. Because our close friends tend to move in the same circles that we do, the information they receive overlaps considerably with what we already know. Acquaintances, by contrast, know people that we do not, and thus receive more novel information.