Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Your Political Facebook Posts Aren't Changing How Your Friends Think (qz.com)

Posted by msmash on from the nobody-cares dept.

An anonymous reader writes:It may be hard to resist airing political grievances or appealing to voters on social media during a U.S. presidential race as heated as this one. But no one wants to hear about your politics, least of all on Facebook. Those long rants about how Trump is a bully and a buffoon, Hillary is a crook, and conspiring against Bernie Sanders has doomed America forever aren't changing voters' minds, a new study found. A staggering 94% of Republicans, 92% of Democrats, and 85% of independents on Facebook say they have never been swayed by a political post, according to Rantic, a firm that sells social media followers. The firm surveyed 10,000 Facebook users who self-identified as Republicans, Democrats, or independents. The only thing those opinionated election posts are doing is damaging your friendships. Nearly one-third of Facebook users surveyed said social media is not an appropriate forum for political discussions. And respondents from each political affiliation admitted they've un-friended people on Facebook because of their political posts.

4 of 399 comments (clear)

  1. Where should that conversation happen? by drew_kime · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Nearly one-third of Facebook users surveyed said social media is not an appropriate forum for political discussions.

    Then where is the appropriate forum? Seriously, what does this third of users think it's for?

    And by the way ...

    ... a firm that sells social media followers

    That makes me sad.

    --
    Nope, no sig
  2. Re:Generalization is appropriate in this case by danudwary · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The thing is, people THINK they aren't being swayed. Everyone, of course, thinks they've reached their opinion through careful thought and introspection. In actuality, we have a tremendous tendency to believe the very first thing we hear.

  3. Re:Incorrect conclusion. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A truly insightful AC post - elections in this country are tight, numerically speaking. In the last 40 years, only the re-election of Reagan was the spread more than 45%-55%, which means that a shift of just 6% of the votes would have changed every outcome.

  4. Re:Duh! by tripleevenfall · · Score: 4, Interesting

    “The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”
      Werner Heisenberg