Technology is making the world smaller. Geographic boundaries no longer keep people with similar interests, mutual acquaintances or common causes from connecting. With the myriad tools that enable us to reach people around the globe, it’s no surprise that Frigyes Karinthy’s Six Degrees of Separation Theory is ready for an update.
Facebook Research took on the mission, crunching data from its 1.59 billion active users. The social network found that each user is, on average, connected to every other person by 3.57 people. This indicates a trend toward more connectedness, according to the researchers. They found that this number is up from 3.74 in 2011.
Facebook users can see their specific average degrees of separation by logging in and viewing the findings. But be forewarned, you might learn you and Mark Zuckerberg are more closely connected than you’d think.
