The Surprising Strength of Weak Ties on Mental Health

Every day, we speak to and spend time with the people who mean the most to us. From our romantic partners and close friends to our parents and children, most of us have at least a couple of people with whom we have strong bonds.

But think about how many people you interact with in a typical week that you wouldn’t consider as close connections. The colleague you always chat with when you’re both in the office, the guy who regularly serves you at the grocery store, and the neighbor you frequently run into when you both walk your dogs.

In sociology, these are known as our ‘weak ties’, referred to as such to differentiate them from our strong ties, like close friends and family members. 

You might think that the impact your weak ties have on your life is negligible, and for some of your weak ties, that might be true. However, weak ties can have a bigger effect than you might think. From improving our mental health to providing new career opportunities, here’s what they can do.

The Concept of Weak Ties

The idea of weak ties comes from a hugely influential 1973 paper by Mark Granovetter, PhD, professor of sociology at Stanford University. He suggests that we can define the strength of an interpersonal tie by taking into account the amount of time two people have known each other, the emotional intensity of the tie, the intimacy, and the reciprocal services; that is, the benefits, favors, and gestures from one to the other.

While we rely on strong ties in our day-to-day lives, they tend to form clusters, like the social groups we belong to, where there’s no new information. For example, if you were looking for a new job and spoke about your job hunt to a group of four close friends, they might only be aware of the same job opportunities as you because you move in the same circles. 

However, you might also mention to an acquaintance, perhaps the barista who always serves you in the morning or the partner of a friend of a friend at a party, that you’re looking for a new job. Because they have different contacts to your strong ties, you’re able to get in touch with people you wouldn’t have otherwise, potentially allowing you to find a new job. 

Benefits of Weak Ties

“Weak ties are important because they connect you outside your own social circle (because your strong ties pretty much know one another, but your weak ties know people that you don’t),” says Dr. Granovetter, looking back at his research. “This is why people are more likely to find jobs through weak ties than strong ties, why you get information from weak ties that you wouldn’t get otherwise, and why you will learn about the world beyond your own little circle.“

“Weak ties can also serve special functions not served by close ties, including providing access to unique information and resources,” adds Susan Sprecher, PhD, distinguished professor at the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Illinois State University – and, again, this could go as far as helping us find new jobs, as Dr. Granovetter discussed in his paper.

As he put it, “Individuals with few weak ties will be deprived of information from distant parts of the social system and will be confined to the provincial news and views of their close friends.”

“Research indicates that many people interact with more weak ties and acquaintances throughout a day than they do close ties,” Dr. Sprecher continues. “More generally, having a diverse social network (that includes intimate others and family, close friends, casual friends, and weak ties/acquaintances and other peripheral ties) is associated with good health and well-being.”

Indeed, weak ties can give us a real mental health boost. One 2014 study from Dr. Gillian Sandstrom and Dr. Elizabeth Dunn indicated that people with wider connections of weak ties tend to be happier. The research concerned students, who found that they felt more happiness and greater feelings of belonging on days when they interacted with more classmates than usual, as well as on days when they had more interactions with people more generally.

Weak Ties vs. Strangers

Dr. Sandstrom has previously made the contrast between a stranger and a weak tie by explaining that, with weak ties, there’s mutual recognition between you. Other definitions of weak ties might include strangers that you share a conversation with – after all, most weak ties will start as strangers at some point. 

The idea of weak ties can be related to the concepts of familiar and consequential strangers, too. In 1972, the social psychologist Stanley Milgram identified familiar strangers as those strangers you might recognize because you both stand at the bus stop at the same time each day, for example, but don’t interact with. 

The concept of consequential strangers, meanwhile, was first identified by Karen L. Fingerman in 2004. They are the personal connections we have away from family and close friends that may not be as important to us, but help us affirm our place in the community.

Weak Ties in the Modern World

Particularly in the modern age, there can be barriers to forming or maintaining weak ties. “Some people have characteristics that make it difficult for them to interact with others, particularly new acquaintances,” says Dr. Sprecher. “These can be people who are shy, socially anxious, and introverted.”

Then, there’s the matter of access to time and resources. As Dr. Sprecher explains, people who have both tend to have more access to settings and schedules that give them the ability to form and maintain weak ties. 

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can’t be understated, either. Because people spent more time at home, in some cases due to government-mandated restrictions, they had less opportunity to form weak ties, at least in person. Instead, many spent more time with close ties. Weak ties could be formed online during COVID-19, however, allowing people to cultivate and maintain these connections in a way they simply wouldn’t have been able to 20—or perhaps even 10—years previously. 

“Weak ties may be just as important (if not more important) than ever before,” says Dr. Sprecher, who explains that social media might mean that there are even more types of weak ties now – for example, those that only exist on social media, like many of those formed during COVID-19.

“Certainly, social media has allowed people to stay in touch (or in knowledge of) weak ties,” she continues. “Remote work, though, may be limiting the contexts in which weak ties can be formed. People create acquaintances/weak ties in the settings in which they occupy time.  

“When people have removed themselves from a physical work setting (and mostly work at home), they have fewer opportunities for daily interactions that increase the familiarity of others who could become important members of one’s social network. Video interaction and other forms of communication, however, can still provide opportunities to form and maintain weak ties.”

Psychological Insights

We know that social interactions, including those with people we don’t know well, can help boost our mental health and sense of well-being – Dr. Sandstrom and Dr. Dunn’s 2014 study is evidence of this.

A study from 2025 looked at autistic people during the COVID-19 pandemic and indicated that people often found interactions with weak ties to be more beneficial than they realized, and missed them during lockdowns and social distancing measures more than they thought they would.

How to Make the Most of Our Weak Ties

It may sound obvious, but to create weak ties, we need to actually engage with other people. Often, this will mean going outside and speaking to people, whether it’s those you pass in the street, who serve you in shops and cafes, or with whom you share an office or class. 

Some of us enjoy small talk more than others, but if you’re somebody who’s not a fan, try your best because it could lead to more fruitful relationships. Attend a range of events, from classes at the gym to expert talks at local colleges, and you’re more likely to meet different people. From these initial encounters, you could connect on social media or gradually speak to them more in public. 

After all, the impact of weak ties today is as significant as it has been in the past, with Dr. Granovetter explaining: “I don’t think this impact has changed much at all. The reasons why weak ties matter apply as much now as they ever did.”

Bottom Line

Weak ties have a bigger impact on us than you might think. Sure, the relationships you have with acquaintances and people you don’t know as well aren’t going to be the same as those you have with partners and close friends, but they could still help you a lot in both your personal and professional life. 

Why not try to make more of an effort with the weak ties in your life and see where it gets you? You might find yourself in a better mood, make a couple of new friends, or progress in your career as a result.