Examples of social structures commonly visualized through social network analysis include social media networks, meme spread, information circulation, friendship and acquaintance networks, peer learner networks, business networks, knowledge networks, difficult working relationships, collaboration graphs, kinship, disease transmission, and sexual relationships.

A focus on networks helps us understand, for example, the activities of economic elites, how people get jobs, how juries reach consensus, how nations pattern their trade, the “small world” phenomena, and the structure of the Internet.