The Political Environment on Social Media
October 25, 2016 12:03 PM   Subscribe

More than one-third of social media users are worn out by the amount of political content they encounter, and more than half describe their online interactions with those they disagree with politically as stressful and frustrating
Americans, Politics, and Social Media by Pew Research Center
posted by infini (47 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
MetaFilter: More than half describe their online interactions with those they disagree with politically as stressful and frustrating.
posted by entropicamericana at 12:08 PM on October 25, 2016 [21 favorites]


I don't mind political discussion on social media.

I do mind the stupid though.

And the politics surfaces soooo much of the stupid.
posted by srboisvert at 12:12 PM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


I wonder if the other 7 billion people in the world outside America feel the same way?

Anyway, as a non-American I have had to adjust my various social feeds by unfollowing several American friends on Facebook until at least the inauguration. All they do is post about the election.

On Twitter I just use lists to switch channels, although I do enjoy following the presidential race—but only when there are witty, intelligent and informed people talking about it.
posted by My Dad at 12:16 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


Is this the new Election thread?
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:16 PM on October 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


No.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:16 PM on October 25, 2016 [44 favorites]


As a Social Democrat who lives in a smallish town in a red county, I don't talk politics on social media because there's just no advantage to it. You're not going to convince anyone, and you're only get people upset with you.

Most of my friends, luckily, share my beliefs. Those who don't either don't talk politics or they get removed from my feed. Otherwise I would eventually explode.
posted by entropicamericana at 12:21 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I've been deTwittering myself more lately, going so far as to resurrect an RSS reader arrangement with select feeds as a substitute. Facebook I ditched a few years ago, and reddit I 86'd this summer when I realized how damn many subreddits I was blocking using a browser extension FOR ONE WEBSITE. Same thing with the muting/blocking on Twitter. At some point, it turns into "Why do I have a part-time job blocking content on these websites?" And don't get me started on every other post being advertising.

I'm as much of a technerd as anybody, but the burnout is real.
posted by Celsius1414 at 12:24 PM on October 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


I'm fortunate, I suppose, to have no crazy uncles or even a co-worker or whatnot, and the few Republicans I do have on my feed are of the type who are clearly embarrassed to be in the situation presented this year. I do have a fair bullhorn in my ear from the Bernie-or-bust contingent, though, and a couple of libertarians are out there. But everyone I follow on social media is pretty much where I am about the orange ball of fire.

I know i post and re-share a lot of political content, but I've always been a total wonk and that's not gonna change. I do feel sympathy for my friends who are tuning out or disengaging from political discussions. One of them, a close pal from college who was ONCE as much of a wonk as I am (literally, we would try to one-up each other on things like foreign presidents) is now doing a "five songs that mean something to me" every day practice.
posted by dhartung at 12:27 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


One of them, a close pal from college who was ONCE as much of a wonk as I am (literally, we would try to one-up each other on things like foreign presidents) is now doing a "five songs that mean something to me" every day practice.

I survived the last three debates being watched in the next room by putting on my headphones and taking a really deep dive into my music collection. It ended up being really refreshing and nice and shook me out of my patterns a bit.
posted by selfnoise at 12:42 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


The thing that interests me is that the burnout is bipartisan. In other words, Republicans find arguing with Democrats just as stressful as the reverse. I was really hoping that the stats would show that one side found the other side way more stressful so that I could hypothesize that the other side was more obnoxious and bellicose about their obnoxious, bellicose candidate and thereby feel better about myself, but as usual, reality reminds me that we are all suffering.

Anyway, even it if had turned out that way, the obnoxious, bellicose candidate's side would have just said that the other side couldn't handle it because of their nonexistent moral fiber.
posted by radicalawyer at 12:46 PM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


Reminds me of this Marshall McLuhan quote, which I read just the other day:
After the Second War, an ad-conscious American army officer in Italy noted with misgivings that Italians could tell you the names of cabinet ministers, but not the names of commodities preferred by Italian celebrities. Furthermore, he said, the wall space of Italian cities was given over to political, rather than commercial slogans. He predicted that there was small hope that Italians would ever achieve any sort of domestic prosperity or calm until they began to worry about the rival claims of cornflakes and cigarettes, rather than the capacities of public men. In fact, he went so far as to say that democratic freedom very largely consists in ignoring politics and worrying, instead, about the threat of scaly scalp, hairy legs, sluggish bowlers, saggy breasts, receding gums, excess weight, and tired blood.
Being able to ignore politics and concentrate on your friends and family is another form of democratic freedom to add to that list. It's when you have to think about politics that things are getting bad.
posted by clawsoon at 12:46 PM on October 25, 2016 [22 favorites]


It's when you have to think about politics that things are getting bad.

Maybe in some kind of Confucian ideal of enlightened monarchy, but in actual democracies you are constantly obligated to be aware of and participate in politics, at all levels. I think it's the disconnect between the amount of conversation and the degree of regulatory capture and the minimal agency that the average American has at this point that's the well of much of the related anxiety and conflict (in some ways, I think the former is actually driven by the latter, as a tool to give people the reassuring illusion that they *do* have some control).

I still haven't gotten my head around it, but it feels like something changed definitively between 9-11 and the aftermath of the 2nd Gulf War - the setting in of a kind of hopelessness that is barely sublimated behind political bluster, being driven by political spectacles that are ever more disconnected from the actual, lived reality of most people in this country. It just keeps accelerating, as the stakes get higher and higher. I'm guessing some sense of that is behind a lot of the exhaustion this poll is picking up on.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:54 PM on October 25, 2016 [22 favorites]


I wonder if the other 7 billion people in the world outside America feel the same way?

Does Brexit not count? Or any of the other populist resurgence focal points? Pew's expressly talking about Americans in TFA, it seems, but I don't think frustration stops at the border.

"Many users view social media as places where people say things they would never say in person, while a smaller share views these platforms as places where people are afraid to speak their minds for fear of criticism."

The personal upside is that this neverending campaign "season" finally got me to stop using Facebook.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 12:55 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm jumping in a wee bit earlier than the norm as an OP but this just struck me and so I had to share. In so many parts of the world, it's the norm to see folks during the day at the corner shop - tea, coffee, maybe beer or wine - especially the retired, writers, journalists, students, taxi drivers, and they're all talking politics. Politics is a social lubricant in a way that it isn't in US culture. Now, for the first time, you have the perfect storm of ubiquitious smartphones, social media, and an overheated political environment. It's far too intense, and its boiling over into this burnout.

I'm not saying this well, but going through the Pew Report, beyond the first page, that's what the pattern feels like - too much, too soon, without a historic culture of political chit chat to build up the customary norms (What about those Mets huh?)
posted by infini at 12:58 PM on October 25, 2016 [11 favorites]


I still haven't gotten my head around it, but it feels like something changed definitively between 9-11 and the aftermath of the 2nd Gulf War - the setting in of a kind of hopelessness that is barely sublimated behind political bluster, being driven by political spectacles that are ever more disconnected from the actual, lived reality of most people in this country. It just keeps accelerating, as the stakes get higher and higher. I'm guessing some sense of that is behind a lot of the exhaustion this poll is picking up on.

One psychologist quoted in the report says, “we are being encouraged to police thought crimes and political opinions” and describes another psychologist being fed questions by Prevent officers to ask her patient.

posted by infini at 1:03 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I must be an outlier, all of my social media interaction revolves around enthusiasm for the Teddy Ruxpin universe
posted by beerperson at 1:09 PM on October 25, 2016 [14 favorites]


I think that the length of the political season in the US is a serious problem. This has been going on for the better part of a year and a half, pretty much as grist for the media mill. I wonder if a complete moritorium on presidential politics until May 8th of election year (moving primaries as necessary) won't be needed to restore sanity.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:09 PM on October 25, 2016 [8 favorites]


I have a friend from university who is on the other side of the political spectrum from me and we are pretty much the only people who will reply to each other's political postings on facebook in a critical manner. We politely disagree, present our respective cases and then move on because neither of us see the point in making it more than what it is - two friends chatting on facebook. The only other thing we talk about is soccer which goes about the same way.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:10 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I wonder if a complete moritorium on presidential politics until May 8th of election year (moving primaries as necessary) won't be needed to restore sanity.

Just a few moments ago... So yeah, I think the US electoral system must stop being a complete circus for the sake of everyone. Including foreigners like me.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:13 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I use Reddit Enhancement Suite pretty heavily.
One of its features is a keyword filter to hide submissions.
At this point, it has dozens of entries*.

My preferred twitter client has the same feature as does F.B. Purity.

I'm not sure at this point how people go online with such tools.

* Including many misspellings. Why is it that people who hate Hillary can't spell her name?
posted by madajb at 1:17 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Being able to ignore politics and concentrate on your friends and family is another form of democratic freedom.

We're doing OK. A plurality actually answered: "Don't Feel Strongly One Way Or The Other"
posted by jetsetsc at 1:20 PM on October 25, 2016


I have long lamented the length of US campaigns. But this year, I think the loooong vetting process may actually result in a better outcome. Had the election been held six months ago, there's a good chance Trump would have walked away with it. Since then, (particularly through three agonizing debates), America is really getting to know the nasty side of Trump, and the competent, and in her way fairly like-able side of Clinton. It took a long, miserable campaign to get us there, but it is a much better place.
posted by jetsetsc at 1:23 PM on October 25, 2016 [5 favorites]




The burn out certainly doesn't stop at the US border, but the truly bemusing thing in my social media world at the moment is the Australians banging on about the US election to other Australians. I'm not the only one really tired of it, and guys, we're in the wrong country, we can't vote. It's not our president!
posted by deadwax at 1:53 PM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


my antidote: whenever i read something political on teh medias that makes me even *want* to respond - in agreement or not - i drop it and post an image of important art. works pretty good so far.
posted by j_curiouser at 1:56 PM on October 25, 2016


I'm so much happier ever since I told TweetBot to filter out tweets containing "trump" and/or "hillary" for the next month or so. I don't need to know what terrible thing Trump did today or how his supporters are trying to defend it. I made my voting decision weeks ago. And should really fill out the voting form so I can ignore the rest of the race in good conscience.

This morning I added "Jack chick" and "chick tract" to the filters for a week because I had my fill of people talking about Chick's death and why you should or should not consider him an Important Cartoonist.

I don't know how people can use Twitter without a client that can filter out stuff they're just plain sick of hearing about. I guess that problem is why they keep on flirting with an out-of-order timeline.
posted by egypturnash at 2:06 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


On the positive side, look how many comments in our election threads are about having a productive exchange with a Trump-supporting friend or family member, and having them come around.

This is not happening anywhere in my feed and I would go so far as to say this experience is an outlier.
posted by edbles at 2:21 PM on October 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


MetaFilter: You're not going to convince anyone, and you're only get people upset with you.
posted by Sangermaine at 2:47 PM on October 25, 2016


Three months or so ago, I spoke to my Facebook feed, and reminded my friends that when they talk about Trump on social media they validate him, and are therefore helping to elect him, even if their comments are negative. I pretty much cleared the decks of it. Then if by accident something bridges over from someone, and the trolls are under the bridge, I find the originating site, and hide it. Not rent free in my head, any more than it is, by virtue of the elephant's rage.
posted by Oyéah at 2:49 PM on October 25, 2016


MetaFilter and rec.games.roguelike.nethack are as social as I get. Yes, I live under a rock...
posted by jim in austin at 2:52 PM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


Only three more weeks until the 2020 election season!
posted by DoctorFedora at 2:53 PM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


I was abroad for 18 years, and came back last summer. Still getting used to it. But the election thing is like I never lived here. The constant barrage of email from campaigns I dared donate to, has been disgusting. The constant message that I must give money or else TRUMP! has me quite disgusted with my own party.

Social media? I'm sorry. I find it convenient, this year, to learn which of the people I think of as "friends", really aren't.
posted by Goofyy at 3:13 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


This kind of reminds me of a thing I once saw pointed out. Twitter is great for finding strangers you love. Facebook is great for finding out that you can't stand the people you already know.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:21 PM on October 25, 2016 [12 favorites]


My Dad: I wonder if the other 7 billion people in the world outside America feel the same way?

I can't speak for the other 6999999999 of us but in my country, Iceland, there's an election next weekend. I take a break from my social media political stress by reading about the US election.

So thanks, America, for this very distracting spectacle.
posted by Kattullus at 3:35 PM on October 25, 2016 [8 favorites]


Didn't the "breastfeeding MP" going viral obscure the fact that Iceland may or may not be restricting resettling of refugees? Or something?
posted by My Dad at 4:39 PM on October 25, 2016


Pirates, everywhere!
posted by clavdivs at 4:41 PM on October 25, 2016


This is why cat videos are important.
posted by louche mustachio at 5:14 PM on October 25, 2016 [7 favorites]


So many takeaways from this election being run by social media are frightening.

The idea of foreign and/or corporate operatives and commenting robots and even slickly funded astroturf work by Correct the Record and its alt-right counterparts, all using social media so heavily and effectively to steer the election this way and that, to reframe and rearrange the filters to produce ever-so-slightly more useful echo chambers for their preferred brand, the near-complete absence of actual policy discussions anywhere, ever, and the heavier than ever use of distractions, social wedges and FEAR FEAR PANIC from both sides is just... well, it's damn concerning for the future, especially as I really doubt any of these new info powers or techniques are going away after the election. What worked so well will be sharpened and redeployed against us again, and again, and again. And not just during elections, I am sure.

The next time a war needs support, for example, the manufacturers of consent will make the Bush-Cheney team look like rank amateurs.

The scary man was a McGuffin in our story, and while he'll be thankfully gone from the narrative very soon, the way we have been played with at ever-higher and more emotional levels is going to linger, and that's the real fright to me.
posted by rokusan at 6:01 PM on October 25, 2016 [5 favorites]


It's not so much to discuss politics as to post dank memes which aim to exterminate rational thought. Thanks Zuck!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:29 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


MetaFilter and rec.games.roguelike.nethack are as social as I get.

At first I was all "Wait, there are people still on Usenet?" But I guess if any topic is going to invite the use of obsolete technologies...
posted by Gerald Bostock at 9:37 PM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


You're not going to convince anyone, and you're only get people upset with you.

Causing as much distress as possible to the kind of shitstain who considers Breitbart a news source, Trump a potential president and Milo an intellectual is fine sport.
posted by flabdablet at 1:26 AM on October 26, 2016


If Americans could be more concerned with their fellow citizens' well being than they are with satisfying their id politics would be pleasant.
posted by any major dude at 5:15 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


This is why I listen to the NPR politics podcast. It's a reasonably summary and analysis of the political news. It came out a couple times and week and was great. From now until the election, it comes out every day. Good times.
posted by beau jackson at 8:28 AM on October 26, 2016 [2 favorites]


What's funny and sad, any major dude, is that people on both sides smugly think that it's only the other side engaging in that sort of id-stroking political discourse. Look how wise we are over here, while those fools are still rolling around in their self-serving memery and stereotypes.

It's literally most of online media this time around. Even safe, literate, mainly-rational spaces like our truly-beloved Metafilter are stuffed to the brim with it, as most of us (me very much included, sadly) spend way too much time and energy feeling superior to and making fun of The Other. We're so right and good, and they're so dumb and evil. And it's so easy and intellectually easy to take pot-shots at them, isn't it? For me, at least... well, I don't think this makes me a better person in the long run.

The fact we happen to be right, or on the right side of history even, doesn't make our behavior better, I don't think.

Social media may have turned out to be just as bad for the politic as it was for the self.
posted by rokusan at 11:24 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


Where it has really been getting ugly is the impact on people of colour. I don't know if Pew considered that aspect. And I'm speaking from the global perspective, and stepping beyond just the election coverage (coverage? ha! you can have alerts for Africa+business and it is full of orangeface), it includes the Brexit fallout. So what you have is the English language internet full of crazy politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, spewing hate and anger and rejection of the Other.

The era where you could say what you wanted to your local newspaper and then turn around and make nice with the "Other" during diplomacy or trade negotiations, and keep these two stories separated, has collapsed through the ubiquitious advent of the internet. So the two faced lies and the hypocrisy is as much a creator of anger and hate as the actual words themselves.

We need an antidote to all of the negativity before the entire planet implodes.
posted by infini at 1:40 AM on October 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


deadwax, the media tracking mentions of the US election in Aus TV and radio are off the charts. Sure it's a car crash and we all like watching them, but I am pretty bored by it all. I have friends who are totally involved in it, regular posters, and yep I know how they'd vote if they could, I learn nothing from them or about them, they really don't need to signal how much they dislike Trump any more, we've got it.
posted by wilful at 5:34 AM on October 27, 2016


deadwax: The burn out certainly doesn't stop at the US border, but the truly bemusing thing in my social media world at the moment is the Australians banging on about the US election to other Australians. I'm not the only one really tired of it, and guys, we're in the wrong country, we can't vote. It's not our president!

Aye, but the loudness and length of the US presidential campaign has a way of shifting the Overton Window in other English-speaking countries. Unfortunately. You can bet that Conservative leadership candidates up here in Canada are testing out Trump-lite soundbites. They're now part of our discourse, like it or not, and if we don't like it we have to say something back lest Trumpish becomes the new normal.
posted by clawsoon at 10:41 AM on October 27, 2016


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