Do You Discuss Politics on Social Media?

[Calvert DeForest]

Survey Says....

[bmw]

I do, though not a lot. On facebook, I have been unfriended at least 3 times from what I'm almost certain is politics-related discussions. One friend in particular, who we had been friends for over 7 years, was particularly distraught over Trump winning - she posted that basically it was because there were too many men who voted for Trump because Hillary is a woman. When I challenged that assertion, I was unfriended, almost immediately. Another friend unfriended me years ago because we disagreed over whether global warming was destroying our planet, and even if it was, whether there was actually much the US, by itself, could do about it.

And here, I thought it was people on the left who are supposed to be tolerant of other peoples' viewpoints. I would never unfriend somebody because I disagreed with their politics. I've had a few who I block their posts from showing up on my newsfeeds because they CONSTANTLY post politics stuff, but I've never outright unfriended anybody over it.

[Deleted User 8570]

I do, though not a lot. On facebook, I have been unfriended at least 3 times from what I'm almost certain is politics-related discussions. One friend in particular, who we had been friends for over 7 years, was particularly distraught over Trump winning - she posted that basically it was because there were too many men who voted for Trump because Hillary is a woman. When I challenged that assertion, I was unfriended, almost immediately. Another friend unfriended me years ago because we disagreed over whether global warming was destroying our planet, and even if it was, whether there was actually much the US, by itself, could do about it.

And here, I thought it was people on the left who are supposed to be tolerant of other peoples' viewpoints. I would never unfriend somebody because I disagreed with their politics. I've had a few who I block their posts from showing up on my newsfeeds because they CONSTANTLY post politics stuff, but I've never outright unfriended anybody over it.

Alas there are people on the right who would immediately stop having anything to do with a Democrat... zealotry knows no ideology...

I am a Luddite... I use no social media and I don't care to. I don't see the point.

[bmw]

I am a Luddite... I use no social media and I don't care to. I don't see the point.

You know, posting in forums such as this one really isn't much different than "social media." The only difference is specific forums have specific discussion topics. Well that, and you probably know far fewer people "in person" who you interact with in these forums than you would of your social media friends.

[Calvert DeForest]

I do, though not a lot. On facebook, I have been unfriended at least 3 times from what I'm almost certain is politics-related discussions. One friend in particular, who we had been friends for over 7 years, was particularly distraught over Trump winning - she posted that basically it was because there were too many men who voted for Trump because Hillary is a woman. When I challenged that assertion, I was unfriended, almost immediately. Another friend unfriended me years ago because we disagreed over whether global warming was destroying our planet, and even if it was, whether there was actually much the US, by itself, could do about it.

And here, I thought it was people on the left who are supposed to be tolerant of other peoples' viewpoints. I would never unfriend somebody because I disagreed with their politics. I've had a few who I block their posts from showing up on my newsfeeds because they CONSTANTLY post politics stuff, but I've never outright unfriended anybody over it.

I've never unfriended anyone, although I've admittedly put a few people on ignore when they start going over the top.

The whole "unfriending" thing just seems to be a feel-good ego-stroke. It's like saying oh yeah?....I'll show you!, like the person being unfriended will be terribly offended and hurt by the whole thing. I think it's childish and ridiculous. Elementary school stuff.

[Deleted User 8570]

I am a Luddite... I use no social media and I don't care to. I don't see the point.

You know, posting in forums such as this one really isn't much different than "social media." The only difference is specific forums have specific discussion topics. Well that, and you probably know far fewer people "in person" who you interact with in these forums than you would of your social media friends.

Precisely. I enjoy discussing things with you guys but we are all interested in the stuff we are discussing. But I'm not interested in an update every 5 minutes that somebody got out of bed, or made breakfast and realized it's a sad day when they run out of maple syrup for their pancakes or whatever. I have bigger fish to fry.

I don't need instant updates all day on everybody plus a bunch of stupid videos and fake news most people believe anyways because they are ill informed.

I've never met anyone on here in person though this place is kind of like a virtual bar... we even have lots of beer on tap...

[Calvert DeForest]

I am a Luddite... I use no social media and I don't care to. I don't see the point.

You know, posting in forums such as this one really isn't much different than "social media." The only difference is specific forums have specific discussion topics. Well that, and you probably know far fewer people "in person" who you interact with in these forums than you would of your social media friends.

The difference here is that we can post relatively incognito unless we choose to use our real names. Facebook requires you to post as you.

That being said, how many of our social media friends are friends in real life? How many of them have we caught a movie with or had over to our house for dinner? Is it really a great loss if we're unfriended by someone we haven't seen in-person for 20 years and only interact with via social media?

I have a small circle of real friends, and those relationships would unlikely be destroyed by political discussion. The rest is all superficial. Still, I have made it a policy not to venture into politics on my social media accounts. It's just too big an arena for me, and there are too many potential eyes that I don't know. I know of someone who was turned down for a job with the MSP because of stuff he posted on Facebook. Could have seemed benign to him, but you never know how someone else (like a potential employer) may interpret it.

[bmw]

Calvert - I generally agree; and everything you said is evidence that we don't REALLY have freedom of speech in this country. Sure, we can't be thrown in jail, but beyond that, consequences of what is otherwise protected political speech can be devastating. But I'll hold off for now from going on a rant about how political correctness is damaging our society.

[bmw]

Alas there are people on the right who would immediately stop having anything to do with a Democrat... zealotry knows no ideology...

Maybe so with regards to individuals, but studies have been done on this and they show that as a group, liberals are more likely than conservatives to disassociate with people with whom they politically disagree.



Washington Post article:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the ... e-and-off/

Headline: Liberals are more likely to unfriend you over politics — online and off

Consistent liberals were the most likely group to block or unfriend someone because they disagreed with their political postings, with 44 percent saying they had "hidden, blocked, defriended, or stopped following someone" on Facebook due to their political postings. Only roughly one-third (31 percent) of consistent conservatives had done the same -- although this might be attributable to lower levels of ideological diversity in their online ecosystem.

Or....it could be the chicken and the egg problem - maybe conservatives have less ideological diversity amongst their friends because liberals keep unfriending them

[Deleted User 8570]

Calvert - I generally agree; and everything you said is evidence that we don't REALLY have freedom of speech in this country. Sure, we can't be thrown in jail, but beyond that, consequences of what is otherwise protected political speech can be devastating. But I'll hold off for now from going on a rant about how political correctness is damaging our society.

Free speech is between you and the government and how it cannot limit your free expression. It doesn't apply to an individual or private entity. They CAN tell you to shut up. People have taken the idea of "free speech" and run with it... often when it doesn't apply because the government is not involved.

If there is less diversity in a Conservatives stream it's probably because he already excluded them. I've known several older conservative folks who have changed their demeanor and wanted far less to do with me when they found out I was a Democrat. "How can you be one of them?" has been about what
Ive had some more extreme folks say to me. So it's more about when it's done than one side doing it more. A Conservative might be more likely to check your views first and then exclude you than a liberal. The liberal kicks you out once you say something he can't stand. But I'm fairly sure this is all a small small number of folks that go to that extreme...

[Calvert DeForest]

Free speech is between you and the government and how it cannot limit your free expression. It doesn't apply to an individual or private entity. They CAN tell you to shut up. People have taken the idea of "free speech" and run with it... often when it doesn't apply because the government is not involved.

BINGO! The Free Speech Clause and Establishment Clause are perhaps the two most misunderstood elements of the Constitution.

The Buzzboard is a prime example. MW can ban any one of us from the forum at any time for any reason. It's not a First Amendment violation because it's a privately-owned message board. If, on the other hand, the board was taxpayer-funded or otherwise operated by a government entity, that's another matter.

If there is less diversity in a Conservatives stream it's probably because he already excluded them. I've known several older conservative folks who have changed their demeanor and wanted far less to do with me when they found out I was a Democrat. "How can you be one of them?" has been about what
Ive had some more extreme folks say to me. So it's more about when it's done than one side doing it more. A Conservative might be more likely to check your views first and then exclude you than a liberal. The liberal kicks you out once you say something he can't stand. But I'm fairly sure this is all a small small number of folks that go to that extreme...

Given that emotions have run so high on all sides, especially during this election cycle, it's no surprise that such behavior has popped out from every angle. You're absolutely right that it's basically confined to a small minority of folks, although they can sound pretty loud when they have the internet as a megaphone.

What disheartens me is that some are so quick to dismiss others without trying to understand why they hold the views they hold. The use of labels seems to have made it really easy to do. If you can just write someone off as a "left-wing liberal" or "right-wing conservative", you can forego the process of understanding what actually shapes their views. You can also ignore their complexity and toss them into a neat little envelope to save time and effort. Most of us are complex in our values and beliefs, and understanding where the person beside you is really coming from takes that time and effort that so many are just unwilling to invest.

Prejudice is the expressway. Real understanding is the side road. There's more to experience by taking the side road.

[TC Talks]

I mock the shit out of Trump, but I save the more substantive dialog for this place.

[audiophile]

I don't discuss it anyplace but here...

[Turkeytop]

I'm not even sure what the term "Social Media" means. Is this social media?

[Deleted User 8570]

I'm not even sure what the term "Social Media" means. Is this social media?

Twitter, facebook etc... surely you have heard the terms...