Question: How does a sense of community and social ties with acquaintances influence social change?
Possible Answers: Having a close-knit community allows for members to build trust and close relationships. People know that they have support for when they are in need or when there is large cause they are fighting for. Strong, connected relationships can influence a person’s actions or feelings when pushing for social change. Weak social acquaintances also allow for social change to spread due to the expanding number of social connections and peer pressure.
Position: A combination of strong and weak ties is the most efficient and effective way for social change to take place. A social movement needs passionate communities banding together, but also can benefit from the spread of ideas throughout a larger, less familiar social web of acquaintances.
Thesis: Social change, specifically climate change, will be successful from strong and weak social ties, where strong ties foster a passionate movement while weak ties spread this message throughout various social environments.
