title: Emergence of metapopulations and echo chambers in mobile agents.
abstract: Multi-agent models often describe populations segregated either in the physical space, i.e. subdivided in metapopulations, or in the ecology of opinions, i.e. partitioned in echo chambers. Here we show how both kinds of segregation can emerge from the interplay between homophily and social influence in a simple model of mobile agents endowed with a continuous opinion variable. In the model, physical proximity determines a progressive convergence of opinions but differing opinions result in agents moving away from each others. This feedback between mobility and social dynamics determines the onset of a stable dynamical metapopulation scenario where physically separated groups of like-minded individuals interact with each other through the exchange of agents. The further introduction of confirmation bias in social interactions, defined as the tendency of an individual to favor opinions that match his own, leads to the emergence of echo chambers where different opinions coexist also within the same group. We believe that the model may be of interest to researchers investigating the origin of segregation in the offline and online world.
authors: Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Starnini
authors: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica Elettronica e Informatica, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy.
authors: Mattia
authors: M
authors: Frasca
authors: Department of Mathematics, City University London, London EC1V 0HB, UK.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Baronchelli