102 replies to this topic

[Shady]

I think Pew's findings are accurate, and are definitely refected in this forum as well.

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.

PEW

The reasons referred to above are the following:

1. Blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because that person posted too frequently about political subjects.

2. Blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they posted something about politics or issues that they disagreed with or found offensive

3. Blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they argued about political issues on the site with the user or someone the user knows.

4. Blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they posted something about politics that the user worried would offend other friends

5. Blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on the site because they disagreed with something the user posted about politics

I think #1, #3, and #5 are their most common action/reason in this forum.

[j44]

I'm blocking this thread because it offends liberals.

[Michael Hardner]

I think that the results are significant, but do they mean what the thread title suggests ?

The title should perhaps be:

"Liberals are the most likely to have taken each of these steps to block, unfriend, or hide."

[MiddleClassCentrist]

I think that the results are significant, but do they mean what the thread title suggests ?

The title should perhaps be:

"Liberals are the most likely to have taken each of these steps to block, unfriend, or hide."

Or maybe it's because conservatives tend to be older and less technologically apt at finding the settings

[Shady]

"Liberals are the most likely to have taken each of these steps to block, unfriend, or hide."

I agree, but based on intolerance.

[GostHacked]

I agree, but based on intolerance.

Intolerance towards learning the tech? Throw in will-full ignorance as well

[dre]

This doesnt suprise me at all. You generally block someone because that person is utterly useless and does not contribute anything of value... not because they disagree with you.

So the poll really just shows that conservatives are more likely to get unfriended. Not sure If thats something to brag about.

[Shady]

This doesnt suprise me at all. You generally block someone because that person is utterly useless and does not contribute anything of value... not because they disagree with you.

Maybe you, because you probably fit in well with this poll. Liberals usually find somebody that contributes contrary information, not contributing "anything of value." That's the whole point.

[Michael Hardner]

I agree, but based on intolerance.

The study doesn't say why does it ? How would one measure intolerance exactly ?

[cybercoma]

.

Edited by cybercoma, 16 March 2012 - 06:37 AM.

[Shady]

The study doesn't say why does it ? How would one measure intolerance exactly ?

The study does say why. There were various reasons.

[cybercoma]

Perhaps it would be fruitful to actually look at the reasons why people were blocked:

9% Frequency of posts
8% Offensive material
8% Friend was argumentative with user or user's other friends
5% Material could be offensive to other friends
4% Disagreed with post

Who gets dropped?

67% of people that blocked someone have blocked a "distant friend or acquiantance" and 31% of people that blocked someone have blocked people they had "never met in real life."

Moreover, the authors offer this caveat "The cohort is so small that it is not possible to do a statistically reliable analysis of trends. But as a rule, there were no ideological differences among those who had dropped someone from their SNS world because of politics."

These statistics seem to paint a very different picture than a bunch of liberals on social networking sites being intolerant of conservatives and blocking them en masse. It would seem that people that block others are most likely to block someone that they don't know very well when that person posts too frequently, posts things that are offensive to the user or things that may be offensive to the user's other friends. These seem like perfectly reasonable situations to block someone on Facebook.

[Manny]

It would seem that people that block others are most likely to block someone that they don't know very well when that person posts too frequently, posts things that are offensive to the user or things that may be offensive to the user's other friends. These seem like perfectly reasonable situations to block someone on Facebook.

Liberals being selective, passing judgement, making the choice to censor information they deem personally offensive? How interesting...

[Jack Weber]

This doesnt suprise me at all. You generally block someone because that person is utterly useless and does not contribute anything of value... not because they disagree with you.

So the poll really just shows that conservatives are more likely to get unfriended. Not sure If thats something to brag about.

Pretty much...

[dre]

Maybe you, because you probably fit in well with this poll. Liberals usually find somebody that contributes contrary information, not contributing "anything of value." That's the whole point.

The problem of course is that I don't block anyone ever.

I'm so tolerant that I havent even blocked YOU and your perpetually simple minded nonsense. Im CAPTAIN freakin tolerance!