According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, chatter in people’s social networks (SNS) about political issues yields surprising revelations about people’s views; 18% of users have shunned “friends” who have different ideas and 16% have found friends whose beliefs match their own.
There is evidence in the survey that “birds of a feather don’t always flock together on social networking sites” when it comes to politics, says the report:
Democrats, liberals, and people with very conservative views were more likely than others to say that they had been surprised about someone’s views as they were expressed on SNS.
SNS Users Who Learned That A Friend’s Political Views Were Different Than They Thought | |
Party | % of Respondents |
Democrat | 49% |
Republican | 39 |
Independent | 32 |
Political View |
|
Very conservative | 52 |
Conservative | 34 |
Moderate | 33 |
Liberal | 52 |
Very liberal | 54 |
Source: Pew Research Center, March 2012 |
Overall, the new survey found that 80% of American adults use the internet and 66% of those online adults participate in social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+. That amounts to more than half of the entire U.S. population who are SNS users. 75% of SNS users say their friends post at least some content related to politics and 37% of SNS users post political material at least occasionally.
As a rule, says the report, the most active and engaged political participants on SNS sit at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, yet their experiences around political material on SNS are quite similar. Very liberal users and very conservative users are often the most likely to have acted for and against others on SNS. They are also more likely than others to have been surprised by their friends’ political views and to be in networks where they agree with what their friends post. Still, even with them, there is as much frequency of disagreement as there is of agreement.
When it comes to SNS users, the internet users who describe their political ideology as moderate or liberal are more likely than conservatives to use social networking sites: 74% of internet users who describe themselves as liberal use SNS and 70% of internet users who are moderate are SNS users, compared to 60% of conservative internet users who are SNS users.
Users of Social Networking Sites (% of Category) | ||
Characteristic | Overall Population | Internet Users |
Liberal | 60% | 74% |
Moderate | 61 | 70 |
Conservative | 49 | 60 |
Source: Pew Research Center, March 2012 |
The survey did find that a portion of SNS users have assessed some relationships based on political material that is posted on the sites. Some 18% of social networking site users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone for at least one of the following reasons:
Liberals are the most likely to have taken each of these steps to block, unfriend, or hide. In all, 28% of liberals have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on SNS because of one of these reasons, compared with 16% of conservatives and 14% of moderates.
82% of SNS users have not taken any steps to ignore or disconnect from someone whose views are different, or have not encountered any views that would prompt such a move, says the report.
When they shun others based on political content, it is most often a distant friend or acquaintance, rather than a close friend or family member. But roughly a third of those who have ended contact on SNS say a family member or close friend was involved. At the other end of the scale, 16% of SNS users have friended or followed someone because that person shared the user’s political views. In addition:
22% of SNS users say they have decided not to post political comments or links to political material because they were worried it might upset or offend someone. Some 77% of SNS users said they never acted this way.
For additional information from Pew, and access to the more complete PDF file, please visit here.
Yet another example of Google+ outdoing the others. The Circle set up is perfect for finding and following new people that interest you (through 'Search', 'Circle Sharing', etc.) whether they are your friend or not. Circles also allow you to easily share with the people you choose (those that share the belief, that like the discourse on a controversial topic, etc.) to communicate without bombarding others with unwanted content and straining relationships which are valuable in other ways.