Six Degrees of Separation Proven by New Research
You have probably heard the phrase “six degrees of separation.” It suggests that anyone on Earth is just a few connections away. For decades, this idea seemed like a fun guess. However, new research now shows it may be an unavoidable fact.
How the Experiment Worked
In 1967, psychologist Stanley Milgram tested this idea. He mailed letters to random people in the Midwest. He asked them to forward the letter to a target in Boston. But they could only send it to someone they knew personally. Most letters never arrived. Yet the ones that did took about six steps on average.
Why Six Degrees Happens
Modern studies confirm the pattern. Facebook users are five to six connections apart. The same holds for email and messaging networks. So why does this happen? People build relationships to improve their social position. At the same time, friendships cost time and effort. As a result, individuals constantly adjust their ties. They form new connections and let others fade.
The Math Behind the Pattern
Researchers from six countries modeled this behavior mathematically. Each person acts independently without seeing the whole network. Nevertheless, the process always settles into the same structure. The average separation between people ends up around six steps. “This is quite surprising,” says Prof. Baruch Barzel. “The self-driven game shapes the entire network.”
Short social paths help information and trends spread quickly. They also allow diseases to travel fast, as COVID showed. On the positive side, this same structure enables global collaboration. In fact, the research team itself spanned six countries. “That is truly six degrees in action,” Barzel adds.
