The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
In today's digital age, social media platforms enable people to bridge geographic distances and connect with their friends, family, and community, no matter where they are. According to a 2022 Gallup and Meta study, at least 1 in 3 people across seven countries, including the U.S., said they used social media to interact with others at least once a day in the past week.
While social media has its drawbacks—such as pulling attention away from other tasks or fostering a problematic comparison culture—it remains a vital tool for helping people stay connected.
A majority of students in grades 3 to 12 said social media helped them develop relationships, learn social skills, and make a positive impact in their community, according to a 2024 report from The Social Institute.
Spokeo compiled a ranking of the most socially connected counties in Alabama using 2021 data from Facebook, based on a national analysis. County pairs were ranked by their social connectedness index, which measures the relative probability that two individuals across two locations are friends with each other on Facebook. The social connectedness index is a scaled value up to a billion. Larger indexes indicate a greater share of Facebook friends between county pairs. 
- Calhoun County population: 116,429
- Talladega County population: 81,132
- Social connectedness index: 2,826,951
- Coffee County population: 55,643
- Geneva County population: 26,988
- Social connectedness index: 3,233,864
- Jackson County population: 53,467
- DeKalb County population: 72,569
- Social connectedness index: 3,299,101
- Elmore County population: 90,441
- Autauga County population: 60,342
- Social connectedness index: 3,482,146
- Tuscaloosa County population: 237,373
- Pickens County population: 18,688
- Social connectedness index: 4,078,016
- Lawrence County population: 33,502
- Morgan County population: 125,133
- Social connectedness index: 4,916,280
- Winston County population: 23,611
- Marion County population: 29,244
- Social connectedness index: 5,786,860
- Randolph County population: 22,786
- Clay County population: 14,111
- Social connectedness index: 5,916,602
- Houston County population: 108,462
- Henry County population: 17,899
- Social connectedness index: 6,462,101
- Colbert County population: 58,361
- Lauderdale County population: 96,814
- Social connectedness index: 6,769,337
- Pike County population: 33,137
- Crenshaw County population: 13,101
- Social connectedness index: 7,150,767
- Bullock County population: 9,897
- Macon County population: 18,370
- Social connectedness index: 7,482,503
- Washington County population: 15,022
- Choctaw County population: 12,252
- Social connectedness index: 10,468,645
- Fayette County population: 15,967
- Lamar County population: 13,661
- Social connectedness index: 11,840,628
- Tallapoosa County population: 40,677
- Coosa County population: 10,268
- Social connectedness index: 13,516,303
- Clarke County population: 22,337
- Wilcox County population: 9,944
- Social connectedness index: 14,724,845
- Monroe County population: 19,229
- Conecuh County population: 11,174
- Social connectedness index: 15,166,783
- Sumter County population: 11,727
- Greene County population: 7,341
- Social connectedness index: 15,587,305
- Lowndes County population: 9,717
- Butler County population: 18,382
- Social connectedness index: 15,782,799
- Perry County population: 7,738
- Hale County population: 14,888
- Social connectedness index: 16,056,224
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Kayla Zhu, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.
This story originally appeared on Spokeo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Reader Comments(0)