interesting how the DDR is visible
this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2025
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Damn, that’s a very close visual match with the former border, not just a blob. I would have expected it to bleed over more into adjacent areas or shrink in others.
That could easily be the result of poor geolocation of residents (we know you're in the country but we can't narrow this down to a zip code).
Also, not clear at all how many of these accounts are bots. A country saturated with the equivalent of online phone banks could easily tip the scales one way or another simply based on how they invent/associate accounts.
The former DDR is actually shockingly visible in a lot of maps of Germany. Electoral voting preferences (especially looking at AfD, die Grunen, and die Linke), various economic indicators, average size of farms, vaccine rates (data I'm seeing is from 2009, may or may not still be true today. This is actually one of the few indicators where the east wins), religion (particularly non-Christian).
Also interesting how it is higher than in the western German part, despite the lower relative female population in the eastern part.
To my knowledge (as someone from former West Germany), East Germany was ahead with incorporating women into the job market. Presumably, that is still the case. So, it could be that the friendships came to be from working together as colleagues...
That may just be the cause then? The difference in relative population? Since we don't know from the graphic what the numerical foundation is, it might be sometime that skews toward the "more common" side when there's just less women in an area.
Its visable on a lot of maps. Really interesting
This phenomenon is called a phantom border, and Germany is not the only example (but one that is really striking on lots of maps). Poland is another example, as are the Southern US.
You can even get it within a single city. Sydney's "Red Rooster line" is a well-known example here in Aus.
It's visible on basically every map. It's crazy
This map was brought to you by fuck Oceania
I mean !mapswithoutnz@lemmy.nz is a thing, but world maps without the entity of Oceania, that's new.
Those poor Austrians can't take a break
The entire Pacific rim you mean.
The Atlantic is mostly missing, too (Brazil is directly south of Liberia). It's clearly a map made by Indian Ocean supremacists.
Fuck Alaska too, mosquitoes the size of hornets
Collective punishment this time!
Ah yes, the very reliable scale between known extremes "Not Common" and "Very Common"
This map makes me uncomfortable. It looks like Neo-Pangaea is coming together.
Now, I realize what I find especially strange about this map: The Atlantic ocean is slightly narrow. Greenland is missing as well.
At least NZ doesn't have to be alone in being left out, Japan, Australia, both Koreas, a good chunk of China, as well as Alaska have joined them in being ignored on this map
Are you sure your problem isn't just because the map is muted?
What do you mean by that?
I was making fun of this bit down in the bottom right corner of the picture
Ah, OK. I was blind.
This time they took “no data” seriously.
Given that Scandinavia is lower than elsewhere in Europe, I’m wondering if that’s an artefact of them looking at absolute numbers rather than opposite-/same-sex friendship ratios, and Scandinavians being the stereotypical depressive introverts
Is this pure Facebook friendship or is this controlled for family ties?
What is going on, culturally, in the blue countries?
I have west African friends. They are horny bastards.
seems maybe degree of religion affecting policy?
Largely secular France and England have fewer intersex Facebook relationships than heavily Catholic Mexico and Brazil, because Catholics are encouraging it?
It's most likely that friendships are built in bigger groups, and that's most likely containing people of all genders.
You befriend one person and that person takes you to a wider social group fast.
Yeah, my guess is that this an an artifact of cultures which are more traditional in that intergenerational friendships are more common.
Eg, in England, you friend your friends on facebook, then begrudgingly accept your mom's facebook request.
I Mexico, you accept friend requests from your mom's friend, Gloria, your dad's coworker Edgardo, and of course, your entire extended family tree. In these more religiously/sexually conservative countries, the actual people people spend their time with and relate to are probably more gender-matched than in more secular, liberal nations. But this effect is washed out by the sheer number of loose connections that any given person has.
Secular England is more misogynistic than catholic Mexico idk about France
Very hard to be more misogynistic than France.
Probably more sexual repression results in hornier friend requests.
Just saying gay people would skew this result
Edit: I should say: the freedom of gays to live their lifestyle, which means gays can create communities and build their friendships that way.
Me, an East German, pointing at West Germany:
It’s incredible in how many ways the division still shows up culturally 30 years later. Was there something in the GDR that fostered intersexual friendships?
I don't know, but my best guess is widely available child care even for very young children and full-time employment for both men and women being the norm. Much easier to be friends with the other sex if they're not stuck at home with the kids.
Not sure about the DDR but I know the Soviets had a slightly higher level of COED sports and whatnot. Also I think the Soviet scouts equivalent was also COED, if that bled into the DDR it's possible that wouldve had knock on effects up to now.
Also I'm using DDR because GDR sounds weird to me and I grew up around folks who used the German name for some fucken reason.
a shitty economy and living conditions that forced both sexes to work to survive. also a lack of income inequality.
there is kind of an inverse, in inequal societies there tends to be a greater separation of the sexes.
I wonder if the study and data controlled for people's parents being on Facebook.
I only joined FB after a girl told me all my friends (M and F) were there lol.
please consider choosing colorblind friendly colours :) the colorblind community says thank you.
That's just the multipolar world kicking in!
is that the inverse of the Muslim belt or is it an unrelated coincidence?