The effect of disruptive events on spatial and social interactions: An assessment of structural changes in pre-and post-COVID-19 pandemic networks

Caglar Koylu; Maryam Torkashvand

doi:10.48550/arxiv.2311.01559

Back

The effect of disruptive events on spatial and social interactions: An assessment of structural changes in pre-and post-COVID-19 pandemic networks

Preprint

Open access

The effect of disruptive events on spatial and social interactions: An assessment of structural changes in pre-and post-COVID-19 pandemic networks

Caglar Koylu and Maryam Torkashvand

arXiv.org

Cornell University

11/02/2023

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2311.01559

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2311.01559View

Preprint (Author's original)This preprint has not been evaluated by subject experts through peer review. Preprints may undergo extensive changes and/or become peer-reviewed journal articles. Open Access

Abstract

Disruptive events significantly alter spatial and social interactions among people and places. To examine the structural changes in spatial and social interaction networks in pre- and post-periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, we employ the Louvain method to algorithmically detect regions (communities) within the county-to-county networks of the SafeGraph mobility and Facebook social connectedness. We then utilize a range of partition similarity metrics, including adjusted Rand, z-Rand, Normalized Mutual Information (NMI), and Jaccard indices, to quantitatively measure the similarity of regions between the pre- and post-periods partitions of each network. Our findings reveal that in the post-pandemic period, spatial interactions led to the formation of localized geographic communities or regions characterized by higher modular activity within each region. In contrast, online social interactions shifted towards longer distance connections, resulting in the emergence of larger regions marked by strong friendship ties that often encompassed multiple states. By understanding these changes, we contribute to a better comprehension of the pandemic's impact on our interconnected physical-virtual world, providing valuable insights for future research and informing strategies to adapt to the evolving dynamics of human interactions.

Computer Science - Social and Information Networks

Details

Title: Subtitle: The effect of disruptive events on spatial and social interactions: An assessment of structural changes in pre-and post-COVID-19 pandemic networks
Creators: Caglar Koylu - University of Iowa
Maryam Torkashvand - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Preprint
Publication Details: arXiv.org
DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2311.01559
eISSN: 2331-8422
Publisher: Cornell University; Ithaca
Language: English
Date posted: 11/02/2023
Academic Unit: Center for Social Science Innovation; Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984507024202771

Metrics

12 Record Views