[Ailist] Article on Social Constuction of Happiness and othe things

[dlalondeny]

Hi Everyone, 

Saw this posting on another list about an article in the Sydney Morning Herald and thought it would be of interest.  It really speaks to the idea of Social Constructionism and Social networks.    The article starts with the following paragraph and is available at 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/23/1232471590768.html 

"Christmas debt got you down? Dispirited by the long wait till the next holiday? Too worried about job security to contemplate that next holiday? To be sure, these things might contribute to the way you feel, but a crucial factor goes largely ignored or understated - the state of mind of friends and relatives. 
We're beholden, even, to the moods of friends of friends, and of friends of friends of friends - people three degrees of separation away who we never meet but whose disposition can pass through our social network like a virus. 
Indeed, it is becoming clear several phenomena are transmitted through networks of friends in ways not entirely understood: happiness and depression, obesity, drinking and smoking habits, ill-health, the inclination to turn out and vote in elections, a taste for certain music or food, a preference for online privacy, even the tendency to attempt or contemplate suicide. They ripple through networks "like pebbles thrown into a pond", says Nicholas Christakis, a medical sociologist at Harvard Medical School and a pioneer in much of the new work....." 


Enjoy!
Denise


Denise Lalonde
Lalonde Consulting and Coaching 
212-974-1438
dlalondeny at aol.com