Abstract

We consider SIS diffusion processes over networks, where a classical assumption is that individuals' decisions to adopt a contagion are based on their immediate neighbors. However, recent literature shows that some attributes are more correlated between two-hop neighbors, a concept referred to as monophily. This motivates us to explore monophilic contagion, the case where a contagion (e.g., a product, disease) is adopted by considering two-hop neighbors instead of immediate neighbors (e.g., you ask your friend about the new iPhone and she recommends you the opinion of one of her friends). We show that the phenomenon named friendship paradox makes it easier for the monophilic contagion to spread widely. We also consider the case where the underlying network stochastically evolves in response to the state of the contagion (e.g., depending on the severity of a flu virus, people restrict their interactions …

Date

April 2, 2019

Authors

Buddhika Nettasinghe, Vikram Krishnamurthy, Kristina Lerman

Journal

IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering

Volume

7

Issue

3

Pages

1121-1132

Publisher

IEEE