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Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives Audiobook
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(3.02) - 1,061 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A colleague’s husband’s sister can make a person fat, even if they don’t know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much people truly influence each other are revealed in the studies of Drs. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide. Their work shows that six degrees of separation is a notion of the past. Now, there is what Christakis and Fowler call the “Three Degrees Rule”—individuals are profoundly influenced by people up to three degrees away from them.
In Connected, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how people find and choose their partners. Intriguing and entertaining, Connected overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm—that social networks influence ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. Connected will change the way listeners think about every aspect of their lives.
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"This was a good read. It reminded me of Teilhard de Chardin's theory about humankind evolving toward the Omega point. I learned a little about the mechanisms of influence among people and the description of political polarization was really good!"
— Cathy (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone.”
— Business Week -
“In a category of works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world.”
— New York Times -
“A clever, cogent, and enjoyable look at the latest thinking about humans in community. It provides a swath of important research in one place for readers and makes it a stimulating read.”
— Boston Globe
Connected Listener Reviews
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" 'Connected' is an excellent blend of theory and observation. Expect to take notes throughout the 1st half to fully appreciate the more anecdotal 2nd half. "
— Jen, 2/18/2014 -
" Excellent book about the power of networks. You need 6 person to reach anybody in this world. Maximum number of managable friends: 150. And, facebook is not a network :) "
— Emre, 2/16/2014 -
" Fashinating and absorbing A really must read book for citizens of 21st century! "
— Des, 2/10/2014 -
" How humans behave like schools of fish or flocks of birds, or how your friend's friends make you fat. "
— Nancy, 2/7/2014 -
" A nice overview of research on social networks and how they affect the patterns and dynamics of the distribution of a huge variety of things, such as infectious disease, smoking and voting practices. It also looks at the effects of technology (particularly email and social-networking sites) on our networks. It's pretty light on the maths but explains core concepts clearly and with a lot of diagrams, and has a ton of citations to papers, books and newspaper articles should you wish to dig deeper into any of the topics covered. "
— Katy, 2/7/2014 -
" Very interesting look at how our lives are influenced by our networks. "
— Katherine, 1/30/2014 -
" So far some interesting, but not new, thoughts on how ideas and behavior spread like disease. A good behavior like quitting smoking or a bad one like ...moreSo far some interesting, but not new, thoughts on how ideas and behavior spread like disease. A good behavior like quitting smoking or a bad one like obesity can both be idea/behaviors that spread. - You are likely to behavior similar to those around you and you are likely to surround yourself with those that are like you. True to some extent, but I'd like to think it isn't as true as the author seems to think. - He is much to preoccupied with the connected networks of sexual activity and the spread of sexually transmitted disease. Using the example for a chapter is plenty. He doesn't need to bring every chapter back to it. If that is his attempt at finding connection between the chapters of the book it is a poor one. -- Not halfway, but becoming bored. Got about two-thirds of the way, but didn't finish this one. Similar to Freakeconomics and books of that nature, but not as well done. Disappointed. "
— Melissa, 1/23/2014 -
" A fun read by respected researchers. It has made me look at myself and the world differently. "
— Cheri, 1/20/2014 -
" Really insightful text about how we form social networks in life (not only online, obviously) and how we could use knowledge of these networks to take control of certain situations. I really enjoyed this book. "
— Christopher, 1/16/2014 -
" Had some really interesting stuff but also got a little too technical for me and it seemed really long "
— Eryn, 12/23/2013 -
" Surprisingly good. Research results re impact of social networks were not terribly exciting. But the details of the analysis were fairly interesting. Recommend for data geeks - there are some pretty cool data sets profiled =) "
— Lucy, 11/13/2013 -
" Fascinating read, with many revealing insights About social networks. It feels like the research requires a certain level of "buy-in". "
— Ian, 11/3/2013 -
" Interesting premises, but some holes even to this laymen and to many others in the scientific community. Appropriate skpeticism should be applied. "
— Elena, 6/12/2013 -
" This is a good read if you take all claims about causality with a grain of salt, more as theories and philosophy than as science. The observations of correlation seem well-founded. "
— Megan, 5/4/2013 -
" Good, but not great. Flew through it though. I guess I wanted to hear more about the Facebook phenomenon....maybe in a different book. "
— Adam, 3/23/2013 -
" I really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of good studies cited showing the magnitude of the effect that social networks have on our lives. It left me with much to think about. "
— Barbara, 12/19/2012 -
" I will write something smart and awesome about how much I loved this book very soon. "
— Michele, 7/21/2012 -
" On CD four of nine. So far, I'm finding it very interesting. "
— Karen, 11/14/2011 -
" interesting but too textbookish "
— Karen, 9/13/2011 -
" I was amazed to think further about some of the research conducted and reported in this book. It gave me an amazing amount of information to consider in my life and day-to-day work. "
— Eric, 9/6/2011 -
" On CD four of nine. So far, I'm finding it very interesting. "
— Karen, 4/28/2011 -
" 'Connected' is an excellent blend of theory and observation. Expect to take notes throughout the 1st half to fully appreciate the more anecdotal 2nd half. "
— Jen, 4/15/2011 -
" I will write something smart and awesome about how much I loved this book very soon. "
— Michele, 3/15/2011 -
" An exceptionally insightful, informative and instructive primer based on hard science about the immense influencing power inherent in social network organism! A must-read for all serious social media practitioners and users. "
— Norman, 3/2/2011 -
" I really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of good studies cited showing the magnitude of the effect that social networks have on our lives. It left me with much to think about. "
— Barbara, 9/4/2010
About the Authors
Nicholas A. Christakis is a physician and sociologist who explores the ancient origins and modern implications of human nature. He directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, where he is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science. He is the co-director of the Yale Institute for Network Science and the co-author of Connected.
James Fowler is a professor of medical genetics and political science at the University of California, San Diego, and a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. His research has been featured in New York Times Magazine’s Year in Ideas, Harvard Business Review’s Breakthrough Business Ideas, and twice in Time’s Year in Medicine. He has also appeared on Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, and The Colbert Report. Fowler was recently named one of the “top 100 global thinkers” by Foreign Policy and “Most Original Thinker” of the year by The McLaughlin Group.