Ties that bind

(a) This graphical representation of the ties between mobile phone users reveals a social network in which many users are connected to each other, either directly or through others. (b) Removal of the weak links from the network causes a phase transition from a global network to a collection of unconnected islands. (c) Strong ties can be removed without affecting the global connectivity of the network. These findings support the qualitatively different role played by weak and strong ties in large-scale social networks.

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