--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Social media and the Internet haven't…" description: "\"Social media and the Internet haven't changed our capacity for social interaction any more than the Internet has changed our ability to be in love or o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/nicholas-a-christakis-20388_ability_social-media-and-the-internet-haven-t-ch_1400862.png" --- # Social media and the Internet haven't changed our capacity… ![“Social media and the Internet haven't changed our capacity for social interaction any more than the Internet has changed our ability to be in love or our basic propensity to violence, because those are such fundamental human attributes.” quote by Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/nicholas-a-christakis-20388_ability_social-media-and-the-internet-haven-t-ch_1400862.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/nicholas-a-christakis-20388_ability_social-media-and-the-internet-haven-t-ch_1400862.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/nicholas-a-christakis-20388_ability_social-media-and-the-internet-haven-t-ch_1400862.png) > “Social media and the Internet haven't changed our capacity for social interaction any more than the Internet has changed our ability to be in love or our basic propensity to violence, because those are such fundamental human attributes.” [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Digital platforms haven't altered fundamental human traits like love, violence, or social interaction. **In simple terms:** Internet hasn't changed core human behaviors. Key Takeaway Understand that technology amplifies, not reshapes, basic drives. Themes technology human nature social media Mood analytical contemplative Type sociological philosophical When to use this quote - relationship counseling - online community building - policy making Key Concepts behavioral constancy amplification network effects Questions to Reflect On - How does online anonymity affect aggression? - Can digital tools foster deeper empathy? A Different Perspective Assumes all traits are immutable, overlooking cultural shifts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interaction/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-interaction/) [Social media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-media/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [People enjoy the interaction on the Internet, and the feeling of belonging to a group that does something interesting: that's how some software projects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/people-enjoy-the-interaction-on-the-internet-and-the-feeling-of/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [Moveon is not a one-way broadcast media. The Internet, when used best, is a two-way media. We have a forum in which people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-blades/moveon-is-not-a-one-way-broadcast-media-the-internet-when-used-best/) [Joan Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-blades/) > [There is so much media now with the Internet and people, and so easy and so cheap to start a newspaper or start a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/there-is-so-much-media-now-with-the-internet-and-people-and-so-easy/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [For the past 10 years, corporations have been trained that they should use all the different media... But the internet is becoming the umbrella.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-weber/for-the-past-10-years-corporations-have-been-trained-that-they-should/) Larry Weber > [Whether you're aware of it or not, any kind of collage idea becomes a part of how you see the world once you incorporate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/whether-you-re-aware-of-it-or-not-any-kind-of-collage-idea-becomes-a/) [Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/) > [What constrains or enables the capacity of human beings to work in groups is not so much the technology, but rather the capacity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/what-constrains-or-enables-the-capacity-of-human-beings-to-work-in/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [There's nothing you can do about what social media is now or the internet. You just try to find other avenues to make yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-sweat/there-s-nothing-you-can-do-about-what-social-media-is-now-or-the/) [Keith Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-sweat/) > [In this age of media and Internet access, we are much more talkative than ever before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/in-this-age-of-media-and-internet-access-we-are-much-more-talkative/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) > [“The media and the internet exist not to transmit knowledge as it is, but to amplify, exaggerate, and embellish the exact reality. Whatever is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sov8840/the-media-and-the-internet-exist-not-to-transmit-knowledge-as-it-is/) Sov8840 > [It's not the day in which I grew up, long time ago, where we had three news networks. No cable, no social media, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rice/it-s-not-the-day-in-which-i-grew-up-long-time-ago-where-we-had-three/) [Susan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rice/) > [There's just no escaping it: The half-life of media on the Internet is super short. Tweets flow and fade; pages that look great today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/there-s-just-no-escaping-it-the-half-life-of-media-on-the-internet-is/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [I wish we had a more open discourse. It's just a shame that with our 24-hour news media and the Internet, people have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/i-wish-we-had-a-more-open-discourse-it-s-just-a-shame-that-with-our/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [The Internet, too, has strong attributes of a public good, and has undermined the “private good” attributes of old media. Internet service providers obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-waterman-mcchesney/the-internet-too-has-strong-attributes-of-a-public-good-and-has/) [Robert Waterman McChesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-waterman-mcchesney/) > [Most people would say they live with an internal angst that they can't always put their finger on. This is because the Internet has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tricia-rhodes/most-people-would-say-they-live-with-an-internal-angst-that-they-can/) [Tricia Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tricia-rhodes/) > [As an early adopter of the internet, I've changed as the internet has changed, and I regret a lot of the things that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-chu/as-an-early-adopter-of-the-internet-i-ve-changed-as-the-internet-has/) [Arthur Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-chu/) ## More by Nicholas A. Christakis > [The reason we form networks is because the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs. It's to our advantage as individuals and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/the-reason-we-form-networks-is-because-the-benefits-of-a-connected/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [It's fashionable to speak about vulnerable populations in medicine and public policy, but it's harder to find a more vulnerable population than those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/it-s-fashionable-to-speak-about-vulnerable-populations-in-medicine/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [“If we are connected to everyone else by six degrees and we can influence them up to three degrees, then one way to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/if-we-are-connected-to-everyone-else-by-six-degrees-and-we-can/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [Social networks are these intricate things of beauty, and they're so elaborate and so complex and so ubiquitous that one has to ask what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/social-networks-are-these-intricate-things-of-beauty-and-they-re-so/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [We are, first of all, not solitary creatures and second of all, we are deeply embedded in the lives of others. It's very easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/we-are-first-of-all-not-solitary-creatures-and-second-of-all-we-are/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [I like to have met someone in real life before being their Facebook friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/i-like-to-have-met-someone-in-real-life-before-being-their-facebook/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [It's important for students to take their studies seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/it-s-important-for-students-to-take-their-studies-seriously/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [My entire youth was spent with an incredibly ill parent... I don't think you can grow up that way and not be marked by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/my-entire-youth-was-spent-with-an-incredibly-ill-parent-i-don-t-think/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [I'm not suggesting that social scientists stop teaching and investigating classic topics like monopoly power, racial profiling and health inequality. But everyone knows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/i-m-not-suggesting-that-social-scientists-stop-teaching-and/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [One reason citizens, politicians and university donors sometimes lack confidence in the social sciences is that social scientists too often miss the chance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/one-reason-citizens-politicians-and-university-donors-sometimes-lack/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [People have just assumed that... if we call our Facebook acquaintances our friends, we must be influenced by them, too. But we're not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/people-have-just-assumed-that-if-we-call-our-facebook-acquaintances/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [We are, first of all, not solitary creatures and second of all, we are deeply embedded in the lives of others. It's very easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/we-are-first-of-all-not-solitary-creatures-and-second-of-all-we-are-2/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [We cannot understand our humanity just by studying individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/we-cannot-understand-our-humanity-just-by-studying-individuals/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [It used to be thought that our genes were historically immutable and that it was not possible to imagine a conversation between culture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/it-used-to-be-thought-that-our-genes-were-historically-immutable-and/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [We will create life from inanimate compounds, and we will find life in space. But the life that should more immediately interest us lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/we-will-create-life-from-inanimate-compounds-and-we-will-find-life-in/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) [Explore all 31 Nicholas A. Christakis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Social media and the Internet haven't changed our capacity for social interaction any more than the Internet has changed our ability to be in love or our basic propensity to violence, because those are such fundamental human attributes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas A. 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