In the early days of online discussion forums, a common heuristic was that politics and religion were off-bounds, as they would nearly always result in arguments and fall-outs.  Of course, with the rise of social media, it can often seem as though combustible topics, such as politics, are all that is discussed.

This can be problematic enough among relative strangers, but on platforms like Facebook, we’re often talking about these things with close friends and family.  New research from Ohio State University explores the implications of this change.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who primarily used Facebook to build and maintain relationships were least likely to talk about politics.  Similar reticence was exhibited by those keen to maintain a certain image online.  This contrasted with those who had both an interest in politics and a strong motivation to get people to agree with their political views.

Choosing to engage

Informally discussing politics is seen as important in building engagement in politics more broadly, and specifically in encouraging people to vote.

Interestingly, women were found to be most likely to engage in political talk online, although the gap was not a huge one between them and men.  The authors believe this may have been due to the fact that their data was collected during the time in which Hillary Clinton was a presidential candidate, and so women’s rights were at the forefront of the political agenda.

No such differences emerged in terms of age groups or political parties, however, although the authors cite previous research that has found people who identify as Republicans are less likely to talk about politics online as they fear that their views are the minority opinion.

“We also suspect that people who want to build and sustain relationships online are much less likely to post about politics because of a fear of disagreement; we don’t choose our friends (at least at first) because of their political affiliation,” the researchers explain. “As that tie grows stronger, we may struggle with how to balance our perception of that relationship with political views that feel inconsistent, and the concern for disagreement can lead to that pull back.”