Member-only story
Share And Share Alike: Homophily
Don’t marry your nanny, marry that homeless guy
Roaring Rivers
Torrents, currents, and ripples by Christyl Rivers
Roll out the red carpet to those with well-heeled feet
Homophily is why we exclude most non-familiar people. Muddy feet need not apply. Homophily is our human tendency to mingle with those similar to us. We share our jobs, our marriages, our stores, our hobbies, our schools, our hang-outs, and even our red-carpet entertainments (or lack thereof) with our most similar peers.
But, wait. The muddy and unkempt people also want to feel comfortable, so they are unconsciously drawn to their own less snobby peers. By the way, muddy is just a metaphor, most people however impoverished, will make every attempt to keep their hands (and feet) clean.
Homophily helps explain why we marry for money even though we claim we would never do any such thing. We are going to meet people, primarily, who work near us, share our education level, earn about the same, share our general religion, and hold more values in common than not.
If you have worked hard climbing the ladder of success at your retail or bank job, you are probably not going to even consider giving friendly…