Our current digital world is based on a mathematical hypothesis explained by the Theory of Six Degrees, which states that we are all only six links apart. Identify a person you look up to or declare yourself an unwavering admirer of. A world leader, a Hollywood star, a top athlete, or a bright scientist may be the person. Imagine, then, if you could get in touch with that individual via a “friend of a friend” or another network of contacts. The notion of the six degrees of separation suggests that only a few intermediaries would be required to accomplish this, even though it may appear impossible.
Global interconnectedness explained by the theory of six degrees of separation and its impact on Social Networks
Indeed, this is not merely a theoretical premise; rather, it is a reality that has been validated and has even ingrained itself into our communication patterns. According to the six-degrees idea, a network of acquaintances that consists of six or fewer people can connect anybody in the world to anybody else. Its creator, the Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy, proposed in 1929 that the globe is ultimately much smaller than we realize. Decades later, in 1967, psychologist Stanley Milgram experimented to test the theory: he sent letters to nearly 300 people in Nebraska and asked them to forward them to a stranger in Massachusetts, but only through friends or acquaintances.
The result? Most of them reached their destination after passing through an average of six hands. Decades later, in 1967, psychologist Stanley Milgram put the theory to the test by sending letters to nearly 300 individuals in Nebraska requesting that they forward them to a stranger in Massachusetts, but only through friends or acquaintances. How did it turn out? Â Before reaching their destination, the majority of them passed through an average of six hands. However, Six Degrees was a revolutionary platform that was ahead of its time before Facebook, X, or Instagram changed the world. This was the first social network to offer some of the features we are now accustomed to, such as creating accounts, adding friends, and finding people in common.
It was founded in 1997 by American businessman Andrew Weinreich. What might have inspired it, do you think? Well, in the principle of the six degrees of separation, as its name suggests. In practice, the idea was straightforward yet incredibly creative: users could connect with friends and discover who they knew. As suggested by the theory, the platform thus demonstrated how each individual could be indirectly related to any other. But there was a major issue with Six Degrees: it had arrived too soon.
Moreover, in the mid-1990s, internet access was still very limited for most people, and many of them did not understand the need to sign up for any social network. In addition, the platform lacked advanced features and did not allow constant interaction between users. Therefore, despite the attractiveness of the proposition, this series of factors made the platform’s life incredibly short, and it closed down at the beginning of 2001. Nevertheless, despite its lackluster commercial performance, Six Degrees planted a seed that would eventually sprout into far more sophisticated social networks.
Friendster launched first in 2002, followed by the well-known network MySpace in 2003. These platforms added new elements to the Six Degrees plan, like the ability to share material or customize profiles. But when Mark Zuckerberg, a young college student, founded Facebook in 2004, the true revolution began. A wall of postings, photo tags, reactions, and an algorithm that suggested contacts based on friends in common were among the elements that made the latter stand out from the rest and become the social network standard for years. The platform eventually became the biggest social network globally, proving that the six degrees hypothesis was not only accurate but also remarkably successful when applied to digital platforms.
