A Final Word
This book concludes by discussing the impact of technology on how we communicate with our closest friends and family, and especially how we relate to our strong ties. The change in norms is most evident in young people, including the graduate students studied in this book, who now rely on smartphones and the Internet as their primary modes of communication—with their close friends, spouses, and even roommates. As a result of these dynamics, it should have been easier than ever for the students to retain their connections to close confidants in the midst of dramatic life changes. However, this book argues that in spite of what is possible online, the distinctly human elements of interpersonal relations, those that lie beyond the network structure, remain indispensable to understand network behavior.