Is Social Media Causing Us to Self-Censor on Hot-Button Issues?
Hesitant to post that political link to Facebook? Worried about expressing your opinion on Twitter? It might be changing how you talk offline.
A survey by the Pew Research Center in conjunction with Rutgers University has found that social media doesn’t encourage discussion on controversial subjects. It may, in fact, cause people to stay quiet.
The survey, conducted among 1,801 U.S. adults, asked people about their willingness to discuss the Edward Snowden leaks on social media and in person. Social media users demonstrated a particular hesitance to discuss the topic — 86% of those surveyed said they wold be willing to have an offline discussion on Snowden, while only 42% of Facebook and Twitter users said they would post about it online.
“Some had hoped that social media might provide new outlets that encourage more discussion and the exchange of a wider range of opinions. But we see the opposite—a spiral of silence exists online, too,” said Rutgers professor, Keith Hampton, an author of the study, in a press release for the study.
“If people did not think that their friends and followers in social media agreed with them, they were less likely to say they would state their views online.”
There is no shortage of political opinion online, so the fact that people might be less willing to add to their two cents could be a good thing. Partisan political sites have performed particularly well on Facebook lately, seeing a sharp uptick in engagement and traffic.
The effect, however, appears to reach offline as well.
Those who use Facebook were half as likely to say they would be willing to discuss in a restaurant the Snowden leaks and government surveillance. Twitter users said they were about a quarter as likely to bring up the topic in the workplace.
One theory is a notion called the “spiral of silence,” in which people tend to keep opinions to themselves if they think they are in the minority.
“One possible explanation is that social media users are more aware of the diversity of opinions around them—especially on an issue where there is divided opinion,” said Lee Rainie, director of Internet science and technology research at the Pew Research Center.
“Because they use social media, they may know more about the depth of disagreement over the issue in their wide circle of contacts. This might make them hesitant to speak up either online or offline for fear of starting an argument, offending or even losing a friend.”
SOURCE: MASHABLE
