Who you talk to shapes what you believe. Research shows that the people you discuss important matters with, your close ties, have significant influence on your beliefs. This tool helps you assess how diverse those relationships are and what that may mean for how you process information. Next, we will address social media feeds.
Think about the people in your life you'd turn to for a meaningful conversation or advice about something important: friends, family, colleagues, mentors. List up to 6 names.
For each person, rate how similar their beliefs are to yours across two dimensions. You don't need to know exactly, go with your best sense.
Your close network is your most important influence, but your feeds add another layer. For each platform you use, rate how often you encounter viewpoints different from your own.
Research shows that the people you discuss important matters with have a strong influence on your beliefs. When your close ties share the same political or religious views, those beliefs get reinforced through what sociologists call a plausibility structure: the more your inner circle agrees, the more certain you feel, even when a belief may be inaccurate. Importantly, having even one person with different views in your close network is linked to less extreme beliefs. Small differences matter.
Research on how feeds shape beliefs is more mixed. Social media can reinforce existing identities through "reinforcing spirals" : we seek affirming content, and algorithms amplify it. But exposure to opposing views alone doesn't always reduce bias. In one study, people paid to follow opposing political accounts became more polarized, not less : passive exposure can strengthen identity rather than broaden perspective. What matters most is the quality of engagement. These feed ratings are meant to prompt reflection, not to imply that a higher score automatically makes you more resilient.