Transformation of social relationships in COVID-19 America: Remote communication may amplify political echo chambers.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of Americans compelled to stay home and work remotely, presented an opportunity to explore the dynamics of social relationships in a predominantly remote world. Using the 1972-2022 General Social Surveys, we found that the pandemic significantly disrupted the patterns of social gatherings with family, friends, and neighbors but only momentarily. Drawing from the nationwide ego-network surveys of 41,033 Americans from 2020 to 2022, we found that the size and composition of core networks remained stable, although political homophily increased among nonkin relationships compared to previous surveys between 1985 and 2016. Critically, heightened remote communication during the initial phase of the pandemic was associated with increased interaction with the s

SUBMITTER: Lee B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10732520 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature