In today’s hyperconnected world, we leave digital traces with almost every click, like, or post. From tweets and search queries to GPS logs and online purchases, the internet has become a vast and dynamic archive of human behavior. But what if we could harness that data to better understand society, predict trends, and even shape policy?
That’s the promise of Computational Social Science (CSS) — an interdisciplinary field that combines the analytical power of computer science with the rich questions of social science.
What Is Computational Social Science?
Computational Social Science refers to the use of computational tools, models, and large-scale data analysis to study human behavior and societal trends. It sits at the intersection of disciplines like sociology, political science, economics, psychology, and computer science.
Unlike traditional methods, which often rely on small-scale surveys or field observations, CSS leverages big data, machine learning, simulations, and natural language processing to analyze patterns at scale — in real time.