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Social network
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<p>A social network is a <a href="/facts/Social_structure/MyCzKt4H">social structure</a> consisting of a set of <a href="/facts/Social/twVnad19">social</a> actors (such as <a href="/facts/Individual/hJbTjS2x">individuals</a> or organizations), networks of <a href="/facts/Dyad_(sociology)/w0LQCNH1">dyadic</a> ties, and other <a href="/facts/Social_relation/DU3HW2Ah">social interactions</a> between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for analyzing the structure of whole social entities along with a variety of theories explaining the patterns observed in these structures. The study of these structures uses <a href="/facts/Social_network_analysis/CsJIFjVw">social network analysis</a> to identify local and global patterns, locate influential entities, and examine dynamics of networks. For instance, social network analysis has been used in studying the spread of misinformation on social media platforms or analyzing the influence of key figures in social networks. </p><p>Social networks and the analysis of them is an inherently <a href="/facts/Interdisciplinarity/HP0uaNUs">interdisciplinary</a> academic field which emerged from <a href="/facts/Social_psychology/VfEKM8U0">social psychology</a>, <a href="/facts/Sociology/d2Fd0N87">sociology</a>, <a href="/facts/Statistics/DNPsKGYU">statistics</a>, and <a href="/facts/Graph_theory/VVPCd4TX">graph theory</a>. Georg Simmel authored early structural theories in sociology emphasizing the dynamics of triads and "web of group affiliations". <a href="/facts/Jacob_Moreno/rCzMR2ua">Jacob Moreno</a> is credited with developing the first <a href="/facts/Sociogram/RR223S10">sociograms</a> in the 1930s to study interpersonal relationships. These approaches were mathematically formalized in the 1950s and theories and methods of social networks became pervasive in the <a href="/facts/Social_science/hAbm1xtD">social and behavioral sciences</a> by the 1980s. <a href="/facts/Social_network_analysis/CsJIFjVw">Social network analysis</a> is now one of the major paradigms in contemporary sociology, and is also employed in a number of other social and formal sciences. Together with other <a href="/facts/Complex_network/6zTa9z4e">complex networks</a>, it forms part of the nascent field of <a href="/facts/Network_science/Ul7FMUg3">network science</a>. </p>